Fort Smith officer kills knife-wielder

A knife-wielding 27-yearold man was shot and killed early Saturday by Fort Smith police, authorities said.

Sometime before 5 a.m. Saturday, Fort Smith police officers answered a domestic-disturbance call that was said to involve weapons at an apartment complex on Johnson Street in the northeast part of town, according to a news release from the Police Department. An exact time for the 911 call has not yet been released, department spokesman officer Aric Mitchell said.

Officers arrived at the apartment complex to find Samuel Morris threatening a victim with a knife, the news release said. They ordered him multiple times to drop the knife, but he would not, the release said. Officers said the victim was able to “break free” from Morris, but Morris would not relinquish the weapon.

The news release said an officer “ultimately shot Morris.” The release did not detail Morris’ injuries. He was transported to a hospital, where he died, the release said.

Mitchell said department policy dictates that the involved officer will be on paid administrative leave until the conclusion of an internal investigation into Morris’ death.

The department had not released by late Saturday the cause of the disturbance, Morris’ time of death or other details about the shooting.