Santa Clara County DA’s Office Clears Officer in Fatal Shooting

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said a South Bay police officer who fatally shot a man attacking his roommate acted lawfully and saved a life.

A report released Tuesday by District Attorney Jeff Rosen’s office said Santa Clara Police Officer Robert Allsup “acted in lawful defense of others” when he shot 32-year-old Nizamuddin Mohammed on the morning of Sept. 3, 2025.

The district attorney’s office, like many others in the state, is responsible for determining whether law enforcement’s use of deadly force was justified and legal. The office cleared Allsup of any wrongdoing or criminal liability.

In the case of Allsup, the report said that Mohammed had attacked one of his roommates, Eric Thompson, with a knife, stabbing him multiple times. One other roommate tried to separate the two, and another called 911 to report the stabbing.

When Allsup arrived at the home, after calling for the door to be opened and getting no response, while hearing a commotion inside, he kicked open the front door, the report said. He raised his gun while entering the home and turned a corner to see Mohammed on top of a bloodied Thompson, holding a knife.

After ordering Mohammed to drop the knife twice, Allsup saw him make a sudden movement with the knife toward Thompson’s throat, prompting Allsup to shoot four times, striking Mohammed and knocking him off Thompson and onto the ground.

Mohammed was later transported to a hospital and pronounced deceased. Thompson was treated at a hospital for several stab wounds and lacerations.

“Officer Allsup saved Eric Thompson’s life. Nizamuddin Mohammed was intent on killing Mr. Thompson and but for the actions of Officer Allsup would have accomplished his mission,” the report said. “Mohammed and Thompson had a contentious relationship that had rapidly deteriorated leading up to the date of the incident.

Their two other roommates recalled Mohammed and Thompson frequently got into arguments about the thermostat,” the report said.

Five days before the stabbing, Thompson testified against Mohammed in an eviction hearing. “In response, Mohammed had accused Thompson of being a government spy and hacking into his computer,” the report said.

Police reports and witness interviews referenced in the report said that it was around 6 a.m. when Thompson went into the bathroom with his robe on and a towel in hand, and then was attacked by Mohammed, who grabbed him and stabbed him with a large kitchen knife.

“Thompson fought for his life, using his towel to hold on to the blade ‘for dear life,’ and the two roommates wrestled out to the hallway,” with the blade eventually snapping off the handle and falling away, the report said.

When he heard police sirens outside, the report said Mohammed assured his roommates, including the one who was trying to stop him, that the attack was over.

He then got up and “retrieved a larger second knife” from the kitchen and continued the attack, jumping on Thompson and attempting to stab him again just before Allsup arrived.

“Officer Allsup had no reasonable alternative. Mohammed was equipped with a large kitchen knife and was in the act of stabbing Thompson. Additional units had not yet arrived and Mohammed continued attempting to stab Thompson. He had no opportunity to deploy less than lethal force without risking being stabbed himself,” the report said. “The threat was immediate, lethal, and unavoidable.”

Thompson later told police that if Allsup had been a little bit later in arriving at the home, “I do not think I’d be here right now.”

Allsup has been an officer with the Santa Clara Police Department for almost four years, the report said, and prior to that, he had nine years of experience as an officer with the Stockton Police Department. According to The Stockton Record, Allsup previously shot at a man in a non-fatal incident in 2016 while working in Stockton.