Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has faced criticism for offering her condolences to the family of a suspect killed by an off-duty officer while attempting to stab two people.
The incident occurred Saturday at a Chick-Fil-A restaurant where two people tried to hide from a knifeman chasing them at around 5:30 p.m.
An off-duty officer who happened to be at the restaurant identified himself to the suspect and ordered him to drop the knife but the assailant “did not comply.”
“The officer then discharged his weapon to stop the threat and the armed man was struck. He was then taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced [dead],” Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said.
During a late Saturday press conference, Wu offered her sympathy to the family of the attacker, triggering a wave of criticism.
“My condolences and all of our thoughts are with the family of the individual whose life has been lost,” she said.
“I am also thinking of all the people who were impacted here today in one of the busier parts of the city with this tragedy.”
On social media, Wu’s statements were described as bizarre.
“An off-duty police officer in Boston saved lives on Saturday by neutralizing a knife-wielding maniac who chased two people into a Chick-fil-A,”
“Boston Mayor reacted by bizarrely giving condolences TO THE ATTACKER. Democrat leaders treat criminals as victims,” one said.
