Mesa police fatally shoot suspect who stabbed himself, mother

PHOENIX – Mesa police officers shot and killed a man who was stabbing himself at an apartment complex,  the Mesa Police Department announced on Thursday.

On Wednesday night, around 6:20 p.m., officers arrived at an apartment complex near Main Street and Roosevelt Road after two people called 911 to inform dispatchers that a man was stabbing himself with a knife and had already stabbed his mother inside the apartment. Police were also informed that another family member was in the man’s apartment

Officers arrived to find Brandon Franklin Kizer, 35, outside of the apartment with a large knife to his chest. Kizer did not comply to commands from officers to drop the knife.

Additional officers arrived at the scene and located Kizer’s mother in a nearby apartment.

Mesa police fatally shot at Kizer after attempts with pepper balls and less lethal bean bag rounds were not effective.

Kizer was pronounced dead at the scene by the Tempe Fire Department at 7:13 p.m. His mother sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to a hospital.

The department said that four officers involved in the incident did not have any injuries.

The investigation is being conducted by the Gilbert Police Department’s East Valley Critical Incident Response Team.

The case is an ongoing investigation.

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