Cell phone store rampage leads to officer-involved shooting in Brockton

BROCKTON, Mass. — A man with a hatchet went on a rampage inside a Brockton cell phone store, leading to an officer-involved shooting in the city.

It started out as a normal return at a wireless phone store in Brockton. A man in blue shorts was told no refunds, exchanges only and he didn't like that.

"He just went wild,” said store manager Antonio Henrique. "He threw the credit card machine towards me."

Henrique tried to calm him down, but it went from bad to worse.

"He took a couple of steps back went to his bag and took out the axe," Henrique said before showing that the suspect had allegedly smashed a computer monitor.

But Henrique didn't back down. Instead, he grabbed a machete from below the counter and then tried to reason with the man.

"Calm down, calm down," he remembers saying. "It's not worth it; it's a phone."

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At first that worked, but then a police officer showed up outside. He was unaware of the commotion inside, but the angry customer thought Henrique had called the cops, and he went wild.

"The man pulled out his axe again and police realized the situation and put his hand on his gun," Henrique said.

The suspect smashed a display case, jumped up and down, and then challenged the officer.

"Oh take it out," Henrique recalled the man saying. "Shoot me, take it out, shoot me."

The man threw his arms up walked toward the door, ignoring commands to drop the weapon.

The officer fired, but the customer kept going. A second officer tried subduing him with a stun gun, which didn't work either. The man was shot a second time and finally went down.

"You learn how to deal with people, but nothing can prepare you for something like this," Henrique said.

Cox Media Group