The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has determined that a Santa Clara police officer lawfully shot and killed a man who was attacking his roommate with a kitchen knife last September.

On a September 2025 morning, Nizamuddin Mohammed, 32, suddenly started stabbing his unarmed, almost naked, and unsuspecting roommate. The two had been arguing about the thermostat setting in their shared residence, prosecutors said.

After kicking open the door and shouting several warnings, the responding officer saw Mohammed bring the knife toward the injured roommate’s throat. He fired multiple times, killing Mohammed.

The public report concluded: “Officer [Robert] Allsup saved (the roommate’s) life. Nizamuddin Mohammed was intent on killing (the roommate) and but for the actions of Officer Allsup would have accomplished his mission.”

The District Attorney’s Office is tasked with deciding if lethal force used in the county by law enforcement is legal. Officers may by law use potentially lethal force if they or someone else are in imminent danger.

After months of “brewing tension and argument” between the roommates, on Sept. 3, 2025, at approximately 6:00 a.m., without provocation, Mohammed attacked his roommate with a knife as the victim walked into the bathroom clothed in his bathrobe preparing for his morning shower.

Mohammed wrestled the roommate to the ground and began to physically assault and stab him. The roommate’s pleas for help awakened their other two roommates.

One roommate remained in his doorway and called 911, while the other attempted to pull Mohammed off. At one point, after the knife blade had broken off its handle, Mohammed assured his roommates the attack was over. Mohammed then walked toward the kitchen, picked up a second knife, jumped back on top of the roommate, and continued his attack.

Body worn camera footage shows Santa Clara Police Officer Allsup entered the home upon hearing screaming inside and found Mohammed on top of the roommate, knife in hand, preparing to stab him again.

After Mohammed ignored repeated verbal commands, Officer Allsup fired his weapon four times, striking Mohammed and ending the threat. An autopsy showed no drugs or alcohol in Mohammed’s system. However, his roommates reported that he had been acting erratically.

The attacked roommate later told police, “if Officer Allsup had been a little bit later . . . I do not think I’d be here right now.”