Getting your
Trinity Audioplayer ready...SAN JOSE — A San Jose police officer acted lawfully last summer when he shot and killed an armed man experiencing a mental health breakdown, according to prosecutors.
Karim Khan’s actions “placed officers in an impossible situation that required lethal force in self-defense,” Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen wrote in a report released Wednesday.
The shooting happened near a home Khan, 37, shared with his parents in the 5800 block of Recife Way on July 6, 2025. Prosecutors said Khan was diagnosed with schizophrenia at an early age and struggled with psychological outbreaks, short temper and a lack of emotional control. In addition, he did not take his medication consistently.
Khan’s father called 911 after his son became violent with him, according to prosecutors. When officers went to speak with Khan in the backyard, he pulled out a rifle and pointed it at them. They retreated and took cover behind their patrol cars.
Prosecutors said Khan’s father provided his son’s phone number to officers, who spent 20 minutes trying to convince him to surrender. At one point, Khan told them “I know this is not gonna end well for me … I have no intention of backing down.”
Khan refused to say what type of gun he was carrying, telling officers “you’ll find out soon enough.”
Moments after the conversation ended, Khan fired a shot in the direction of the officers, hitting a patrol car above the front driver-side wheel, according to prosecutors.
Khan then jumped a fence into a neighbor’s backyard, where he encountered three other officers, prosecutors said. He was carrying a pump-action shotgun, a bolt-action rifle, a revolver and a semi-automatic pistol and more than 50 rounds of ammunition.
According to prosecutors, Khan and Officer Sebastian Wisniewski, a nine-year veteran of the force, fired one shot each, with Khan’s coming a second before Wisniewski’s. Khan “continued making threatening movements,” and about 10 seconds after the initial exchange of gunfire, Wisniewski fired two more shots at Khan.
Over the next 30 seconds, Wisniewski shouted at least 13 warnings at Khan to stop moving, prosecutors said. Wisniewski then fired a fourth shot, shouted three more warnings, and fired one last shot. An autopsy later revealed Khan was struck five times.
Khan’s parents told officers their son did not have any guns and were surprised to learn he was armed.
“For decades, Khan’s parents provided their son with a robust and caring support system,” Rosen wrote in the report. “Unfortunately, the evidence suggests Khan still struggled, independently acquiring firearms and eventually creating an armed confrontation with law enforcement.”
His “statements and actions showed that he had the ability, opportunity and intent to shoot and potentially kill” Wisniewski and the other two officers, according to Rosen.
“Officer Wisniewski had a reasonable belief that lethal force in self-defense and defense of others was necessary during this exchange,” Rosen said. “Accordingly, no criminal liability attaches to him.”