Wu did not explicitly express sympathy for those nearly stabbed by attacker
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu raised eyebrows over the weekend after she expressed condolences to the family of a knife-wielding suspect who was shot and killed by an off-duty officer after he allegedly tried to stab two people on Saturday night.
The suspect, whose identity was not released by police, brandished a knife near a Chick-fil-A on Boylston Street, a busy part of the Massachusetts capital. He was fatally shot by an off-duty police officer who saw him targeting the two victims, police said.
During a Saturday night press conference, Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said that the officer identified himself to the suspect and asked him to drop his weapon.
"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 explained. "The officer discharged his weapon to stop the threat, and the individual was struck. The armed individual was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead."
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Boston Mayor Michelle Wu was criticized for her response after a knife-wielding man terrorized two people before being shot and killed by an off-duty officer. (Boston 25 News)
Cox added that he was "proud of police officers who activate themselves, whether it's on duty or off duty, to try to save lives."
After Cox and Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden both expressed some sadness over the loss of life during the incident, Wu notably did not express sympathy for the two people who were nearly stabbed by the suspect, just those "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," Wu said. "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 said.
Wu's remarks were called out by critics across the country on social media shortly after she spoke. Journalist Jonathan Choe wrote that "[i]t's all upside down in Boston."
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu offered her "condolences, and all of our thoughts" to the family of a knife-wielding man who allegedly tried to stab people before he was shot and killed by an off-duty officer. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm, File)
"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 questioned. "What about the people who were nearly killed?"
"Boston, I’m going to say this as simply as I can: You desperately need a new mayor. Trust me," conservative commentator Charlie Kirk said in a different X post.
Fox News contributor Joe Concha, a former Boston resident, also weighed in on the incident.
"How exactly did Boston vote for this again?" Concha wrote. "I lived in the Back Bay area. It was one of the safest parts of the city. And she’s offering condolences????"
"Condolences from the mayor of Boston - wait for it - to a knife-wielding man trying to kill people!" Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said. "Thankfully this guy was stopped in his tracks by a brave law enforcement officer."
The incident came as Boston officials, including Wu and Cox, have attracted criticism from conservatives for implementing sanctuary city policies. Catherine Vitale, a former city council candidate, told "Fox and Friends" last week that she believes Wu "doesn't care" about crime in Boston.
"There's tons of crime almost every single day. There's a shooting. We don't always hear about them, but we hear them because we're there. I don't think that most of the crime actually even gets reported on. People don't get arrested. Charges don't get pressed on people who are looting stores," Vitale said.