BOSTON (CBS) – Law enforcement officials are revealing what they say happened just before the deadly FBI shooting in Florida.
Multiple sources tell the I-Team that the suspect, Ibrahim Todashev, flipped over a table, grabbed what appeared to be a metal pole, and lunged at the FBI agent before that agent fired.
Officials say there were four investigators interviewing Todashev that day: Two Massachusetts State Troopers questioning him about the Waltham triple murder, an FBI agent questioning him about Tamerlan Tsarnaev, and a local Florida police officer. They had spoken with him earlier in the day, and then returned that night for a second interview.
At one point, an official says, two of the investigators stepped outside, and one of the state troopers and an FBI agent were left inside with Todashev.
The FBI agent had built up a rapport with Todashev and he was doing most of the questioning.
An official says Todashev was about to provide a written confession to the Waltham murders, when the state trooper who was present, noticed Todashev became agitated and shared that information with the FBI agent through a text message, so Todashev wouldn’t hear what they were discussing.
The official says the FBI agent looked down to read the text message, and at that moment Todashev flipped over a table into the agent and knocked him into the wall.
According to the officials, Todashev then grabbed a pole that was nearby, and started lunging at the agent. The agent shot Todashev two to three times, stopping him momentarily, before the official says Todashev came at the agent again.
The official says that is when the FBI agent shot and killed Todashev. He was treated with several stitches for his cuts from being hit by the table.
There have been other media reports that Todashev used a sword. Sources tell WBZ there had been a sword on the wall, but one of the investigators took it down earlier to get it out of the way.