People were surprised when Boston Mayor Michelle Wu sent her condolences to the family of a suspect with a knife who was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer on Saturday night after he reportedly tried to stab two people.
Police did not say who the suspect was, but he or she was seen holding a knife near a Chick-fil-A on Boylston Street, which is a busy street in the capital of Massachusetts. Police say that an off-duty cop who saw him shooting at the two people killed him.
At a news conference on Saturday night, Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said that the officer told the suspect who he was and asked him to drop his gun.
“The individual was trying to stab the two individuals in the store, and the off-duty officer identified himself as a police officer, instructing them to drop the weapon, at which point the individual did not comply,” Cox said. “The police officer fired his gun to stop the threat, hitting the person.” The armed person was taken to a nearby hospital and declared dead there.
Cox said he’s “proud of police officers who activate themselves, whether it’s on duty or off duty, to try to save lives.”
Cox and Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden both said they were sad that someone had died in the incident. Wu, on the other hand, didn’t say anything bad about the two people who were almost stabbed by the suspect. He only said nice things about the people who were “impacted” by the incident, which happened in “one of the busier parts” of Beantown.
“My condolences, and all of our thoughts, are with the family of the individual whose life has been lost,” said Wu. “And I’m also thinking of all the people who were impacted here today in one of the busier parts of the city with this tragedy.”
“I’m glad that the officer is safe and very grateful for a quick response from all of our first responders here again,” she stated.
People all over the country spoke out against Wu’s comments on social media soon after she said them. In his writing, Jonathan Choe said, “It’s all wrong in Boston.”
“When is the last time you heard of a mayor apologizing to the family of a knife wielding attacker who allegedly tried to kill multiple people?” Choe had a question. “What about the people who were nearly killed?”
“I’m going to keep this short and sweet: Boston, you need a new mayor right away.” Charles Kirk, a right commentator, said in a different X post, “Trust me.”
Another person who spoke out about the event was Fox News reporter and former Boston resident Joe Concha.
“How exactly did Boston vote for this again?” Concha wrote. “I lived in the Back Bay area.” The area was very safe. “And she’s sending her condolences?”
“Condolences from the mayor of Boston – wait for it – to a knife-wielding man trying to kill people!” It was said by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C. “Thankfully this guy was stopped in his tracks by a brave law enforcement officer.”
Conservatives have been critical of Wu and Cox and other Boston officials for enforcing “sanctuary city” laws at the time of the event. Catherine Vitale, who used to run for city council, said last week on “Fox and Friends” that she thinks Wu “doesn’t care” about crime in Boston.
“There’s a lot of theft almost every day. There’s an attack. We hear them even when we don’t hear about them. There is a good chance that most crimes are not even recorded. A lot of people are not caught. When people steal from shops, they don’t get charged, Vitale said.
Wu will be in Washington, D.C., this week as one of four Democratic mayors who have been asked to speak before Congress about sanctuary policies.
