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Austin Del Castillo, the man shot by Tempe cops on Mill Avenue last week, died yesterday.
A police spokesman said Del Castillo, 36, was shot in front of the Chili’s restaurant at Mill Avenue and University Drive — a stone’s throw from the edge of the Arizona State University campus — on the morning of September 19 after lunging at officers with a box cutter.
(If you heard about the incident from Fox 10, they mistakenly identified the weapon as a “box cunter.”)
Police were responding to a call placed shortly after 8 a.m. that morning about a man threatening people on Mill Avenue with a box cutter.
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The officer who shot Del Castillo, only identified as a 12-year veteran, was placed on administrative leave.
A police spokesman did say last week that Del Castillo was hospitalized with “what [are] believed to be life-threatening injuries” after he was shot, although he was not pronounced dead until nearly a week later.
Police Sergeant Steve Carbajal says the department has nothing else to add at this time.
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