Elijah Isham Passes Away at 27

Knife designer Elijah Isham passed away earlier this week, following a car accident and subsequent altercation with the police.

The details are grim. According to local news outlet WHIO:

Police Chief Craig Richardson said the officers checked on the man in the car on its top once, but when paramedics arrived, they went back to his car and he was pointing a gun at them. Police later said it was a .44 caliber handgun.

Richardson said the officers checked with troopers on scene to see if there was a less-lethal option available, but determined there was not one immediately available.

Officers spent five minutes trying to deescalate the situation, gave 41 commands to the man to drop the weapon and offered at least three times to get the man help. The man did not obey commands from the officers.

Richardson said the officers fired their service weapons after one officer heard the man appearing to pull the hammer back on the weapon. The two officers fired nine shots, striking the man at 6:07 a.m.

Since arriving on the scene in 2017, Isham made a name for himself with his baroque, surreal knife designs. He has worked with Kizer, Bestech, and We Knife Co., and also produced knives under his own label. Isham partnered with other makers as well for various projects.