Last Sunday, shortly after the noon hour, a Riverside Police Department officer shot and killed a young man, outside his house, after he allegedly charged them, welding two knives, departmental representatives said.

Vanpaseuth Phaisouphanh, 25, died after he was transported to Riverside Community Hospital, of gunshot wounds to the chest.

According to police, an officer was dispatched on a 911 call involving a man, who was being assaulted by a man with a knife. The police officer confronted Phaisouphanh outside his house, and ordered him to drop the knives. When Phaisouphanh did not do so, the officer backed up and ordered him again. After Phaisouphanh extended his arms forward and charged the officer with two knives, the officer fired "multiple gunshots," striking Phaisouphanh in the chest. Phaisouphanh was attended to, by emergency personnel already on the scene, and died at the hospital at 12:48 p.m. according to the department.

According to local press accounts, a neighbor heard someone yell, "shut up and get down on the ground" and then five gunshots followed. The officer's name has not been released by the department. Usually, the officer is placed on paid administrative leave for at least 72 hours.

At a meeting between Chief Russ Leach and his Advisory Board, department representatives explained that in situations where the person holding a knife advanced from less than seven yards away, the officer involved would usually resort to lethal force because it was only a matter of two seconds before a person rushing with a knife would reach the officer. They also explained that even after shooting a person in the heart, it was necessary to keep on shooting because for about 30 seconds afterward, the person would keep moving forward, "because some people refuse to die," even after being fatally hit.

This shooting was the second in the Inland Empire this year to involve an officer who shot a person who allegedly had a knife. Ginenne Stover, 18 was shot and killed by San Bernardino Sheriff Deputy in March after he said, he feared for his life when the 4'11, 100 pound woman charged him with a knife, after Rude responded to a 911 call. Later, the story was changed to state that four knives were discovered near Stover's body. That shooting elicited numerous protests.

As is procedure with all officer involved shootings, duel administrative and criminal investigations have been launched into this shooting, which will unfold over the next several months.

(to be continued as more information becomes available)