LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A man who was fatally shot by Louisville Metro Police over the weekend had broken into a neighbor’s apartment to steal a knife, which he later used to stab an officer, according to newly obtained surveillance footage.
The man, identified as Ahtume McCollum, was shot and killed just after noon on Sunday, April 20, on Arterburn Avenue in the Crescent Hill neighborhood. Police were responding to reports of a possibly intoxicated man acting erratically when the confrontation unfolded.
Surveillance video, obtained exclusively by WDRB, captures the moments leading up to the fatal shooting. The footage shows McCollum forcefully breaking into a neighboring upstairs apartment around 12:30 p.m. The woman who lives there said she had often given McCollum food in the past.
“At first, I thought he was just knocking aggressively,” the woman told WDRB. “It turns out that my apartment wasn’t as secure as I thought.”
The video shows McCollum slamming into the door multiple times before gaining entry. Inside the apartment were the woman and her 5-year-old daughter. The mother is seen confronting McCollum, shouting, “Please, don’t do this!” as he entered her kitchen. She called out to her daughter, who was hiding in a side bedroom, prompting McCollum to briefly charge toward them before turning back to steal a knife.
Neighbors say McCollum’s behavior had become increasingly erratic in recent months.
“In these past few months, he’s escalated and escalated and escalated,” said one resident of the building.
After leaving the apartment with the knife, McCollum encountered responding officers. During the interaction, he stabbed one of them, prompting police to open fire. McCollum was pronounced dead at the scene. The officer who was stabbed sustained injuries but is expected to recover.
The incident has raised concerns about mental health resources, neighborhood safety, and the challenges officers face during unpredictable confrontations.
An investigation by the Louisville Metro Police Department’s Public Integrity Unit is ongoing.
