Surveillance video showing the fatal police-involved shooting Friday between Boston officers and a 29-year-old man with a lengthy criminal record appears to show that the man fired first, according to several community leaders who viewed it Saturday at police headquarters.

“The tragic shooting was provoked by the victim and not by the police,’’ said Darnell Williams, president and CEO at the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, who said he based his comments on about seven minutes of surveillance videos and audio of the encounter. “They were fired upon, and they returned fire, and tragically the young man was killed.’’

On Saturday, police identified the victim as Peter Fanfan of Boston. Fanfan had 57 arraignments on his adult record and several gun convictions, according to an official with knowledge of the case and court documents. He had been evaluated twice at Bridgewater State Hospital for mental health issues. A woman who answered a number listed to Fanfan’s mother declined to be interviewed.

The shooting unfolded at about 10:35 a.m. Friday at Stanwood and Laredo streets in Dorchester, when police responded to a 911 call about a person shot. According to officials, before officers arrived on scene, two men had been shot inside a home nearby at 107 Devon St.

When the first police officer arrived, officials said, he saw Fanfan helping another wounded man down the street. An official with knowledge of the investigation said the officer believed he had found two victims.

But as the officer got out of his car, his gun not yet drawn, Fanfan opened fire, according to the official and to the Rev. Jack Ahern, pastor at St. Peter’s, who viewed the video and listened to the audio.

Ahern said the officer shouted three times for the man to put his gun down, then returned fire. Within seconds of the first bullets, Ahern said, additional officers arrived.

“I think it was a necessary and professional response, although tragic,’’ Ahern said.

Several officers were taken to the hospital after the shooting, officials said, to be evaluated for stress. It was not immediately clear how many officers fired their guns.

Many of those who attended the meeting, hosted by the police, said they were pleased with the transparency of police and prosecutors in releasing audio and video. There were two fatal Boston police-involved shootings in 2015, and in each case, community members were summoned within days to headquarters to view video.

The Rev. Vernard Coulter of New Faith Missionary Baptist Church said he was “content’’ after viewing the video and audio.

“Not many other places do that,’’ he said.

Jacqueline Rivers, executive director of the Seymour Institute for Black Church and Policy Studies, echoed the sentiment.

“Boston is leading the field,’’ she said. Both agreed that it appeared Fanfan fired first.

Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, who also attended the meeting, said the investigation was still in its earliest stages. It was too soon, he said, for him to make any determinations on whether the shooting was justified.

“We’re committed to a full, thorough, fair, comprehensive, and most importantly independent investigation,’’ Conley said. He said no decision had yet been made on whether to release the video to the public, as officials did shortly after both 2015 shootings.

At-large City Councilor Ayanna Pressley said the incident showed how needed cameras are for policing.

“The fact that we are able to have this transparent exchange, or exercise, to ensure that there is accountability all around — this exercise would not even be happening if there had not been cameras,’’ said Pressley, who noted that the footage was from private cameras, but that police body cameras would be an important step. “It’s about protecting everyone involved.’’

Pressley spoke alongside City Councilor Tito Jackson and State Representative Russell E. Holmes, and all three said they were looking forward to a complete investigation before making final pronouncements on whether police were justified. Holmes said he hoped police would adopt body cameras soon and hoped officials would continue their policy of transparency following officer-involved shootings.

On Saturday morning, police were out in the neighborhood where the shooting happened knocking on doors. Cruisers sat in front of 107 Devon St.

One resident said he turned over video footage to police from his home’s cameras that showed Fanfan and the wounded man running up the street, then arguing with police. He said he could not see Fanfan’s hands or a gun because Fanfan appeared to be using the wounded man as a shield, but he did see him fall.

“I think they did what they had to do,’’ he said of the police response.

Evan Allen can be reached at evan.allen@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @evanmallen.