An alleged ax-wielding man who was shot and killed by Stockton police this week has been identified.
Moises Flores Andrade, 25 of Stockton, was identified as the man killed May 4 in the 1200 of Deep Cliff Way, the San Joaquin Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed.
Stockton police said officers responded to the 2000 block of Nevada Street on a report of a suspicious person armed with an ax.
Officer Omer Edhah, Stockton police spokesperson, said that officers learned Andrade had attempted to gain entry into a residence. Andrade used an ax to “cause substantial damage” to the front door of the home, but when officers arrived the man had left.
In a statement Wednesday, the Stockton Police Department said officers received information that Andrade may have been heading to another home where police believed additional “acts of violence” could be possible.
On the day Andrade was killed, police officers developed information that Andrade was staying at a nearby home in the 1200 of Deep Cliff Way.
At 7:37 a.m., on May 4, officers arrived at the home on Deep Cliff Way and approached on foot to a home, police said.
Police said after officers attempted to contact Andrade at the front door of the home, the garage door partially opened which is when officers observed him inside.
When officers approached him in the driveway of the home, Andrade picked up an ax and refused to put it down, police said. Officers gave commands to the man to drop the axe “numerous” times, Edhah added.
In Wednesday’s statement, police said one officer drew his weapon, while another officer took out a Taser.
“Despite de-escalation tactics and verbal commands from officers, the suspect raised the ax in a threatening manner towards the officers,” the statement from Stockton police said.
Police said one of the officers fired his gun which struck Andrade.
According to police, medical aid was immediately provided to Andrade until paramedics arrived and took him to a hospital. He died from his injuries at the hospital, police said.
No officers were injured during the shooting, police said.
Both officers had on their body worn cameras which were activated during the shooting, according to department officials. The two officers were placed on paid administrative leave which is standard protocol for officer-involved critical incidents.
The names of the officers involved in the shooting, their assignment and years of service will be released when the department releases its critical incident debrief video which will be within 45 days, Stockton Police Department spokesperson David Scott said.
The incident is under investigation by the Stockton Police Department, the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigations, the San Joaquin County Medical Examiner’s Office and the California Department of Justice.
In March, the the California Department of Justice released a report for a 2023 officer involved shooting that killed a man.
The report cleared a Stockton Police Department officer in the shooting, but issued policy and training recommendations for the Stockton Police Department.
The agency recommended the department evaluate its training to ensure officers provide or promptly obtain medical aid when it is safe to do so and urged the department to revise its use-of-force policy to clearly require de-escalation and crisis intervention tactics when feasible, as mandated under California law.
Record reporter Victoria Franco covers public safety in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at vfranco@gannett.com. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Alleged ax-wielding man shot, killed by Stockton police identified
Reporting by Victoria Franco, The Stockton Record / The Record
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
