DA’s office rules Calif. officer justified in OIS of man who stabbed his roommate

By Caelyn Pender
Bay Area News Group

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Authorities have determined that the November 2025 fatal shooting of a Santa Clara man was lawful following the conclusion of an investigation by the district attorney’s office, authorities said.

The report determined that Santa Clara police Officer Robert Allsup lawfully shot 32-year-old Nizamuddin Mohammed, who was in the midst of stabbing his unarmed roommate — likely saving the roommate’s life, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. The office is tasked with determining whether the use of lethal force by law enforcement officers is legal, which includes when the officer or another person is in “imminent danger.”

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“Officer Allsup saved (the roommate’s) life,” the report said. “Nizamuddin Mohammed was intent on killing (the roommate) and but for the actions of Officer Allsup would have accomplished his mission.”

The report, submitted by Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen, is based on interviews of responding officers and witnesses, footage from body-worn cameras, reports from the medical examiner, photo and videos and radio communications, according to a news release.

On Sept. 3, 2025, Mohammed stabbed his unarmed roommate following a dispute over the thermostat setting, prosecutors said. The incident followed months of “brewing tension and argument” in which the two roommates had a “contentious relationship.” Less than a week before the incident, the victim testified against Mohammed in an eviction hearing, prompting Mohammed to accuse him of being a government spy.

The roommate had been walking around 6 a.m. to the bathroom to take a shower when Mohammed attacked him wielding a kitchen knife, wrestled him to the floor and began to stab him while the victim attempted to block the blade with a towel, prosecutors said.

The roommate yelled for help, waking their two other roommates, one of whom called 911 from their room while the other tried to pull Mohammed off of the victim, prosecutors said. When the blade of the knife Mohammed was using broke off, he told his roommates that he was not going to attack the victim any further, but he then went to retrieve a second knife from the kitchen.

Mohammed then resumed his attack on the victim, prosecutors added.

When he arrived at the scene, Allsup kicked down the door of the residence, prosecutors said. Allsup shouted multiple warnings to Mohammed to put down the knife, then fired his gun four times when he saw Mohammed move his knife toward the victim’s throat.

The victim told police that “if Officer Allsup had been a little bit later … I do not think I’d be here right now,” prosecutors added. He suffered stab wounds to his abdomen, chest, lung and hands.

Allsup is a four-year veteran of the police department and previously worked at the Stockton Police Department for nine years, prosecutors said. He was placed on leave following the shooting, which is the routine protocol while police shootings are investigated.

Mohammed’s autopsy found no drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of his death, prosecutors said, adding that his roommates reported that he was showcasing erratic behavior.

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