[kellyhound]

On July 21, 2026, 20-year-old Daniel Alfons Meltvedt, who was autistic and experiencing a mental health crisis, was shot and killed by police in the Turtle Rock neighborhood of Irvine, California.

Daniel called emergency services himself, stating that he was armed with a knife, intended to self-harm, and might pose a danger to others.

The Irvine Police Department's crisis negotiation team spent over an hour on the street attempting to de-escalate the situation. Both officers and Daniel's father repeatedly pleaded with him to drop the knife.

Expressing distress and distrust, Daniel asked officers, "Are those real guns?" Shortly after, he charged at an officer with the knife raised.

Two officers fired a total of eight rounds. Daniel was transported to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries later that day.

Daniel's family has been highly critical of the police response. His father stated that the weapon was a small kitchen knife and argued that his son did not pose a lethal threat.

The family questioned why less-lethal options, such as a Taser, were not deployed to subdue him. Independent filmmaker Erich Meltvedt said he regretted agreeing with his son that the 20-year-old should call police for help amid the younger man’s mental health crisis.

The shooting remains under investigation by the Orange County District Attorney's Office, a process that typically takes up to a year to determine if the use of deadly force was legally justified.