NEW YORK (PIX11) – Police officers shot three people – killing one man and injuring two others – in three separate shootings across New York City Thursday, NYPD officials said.
In the Bronx, police shot a man armed with a firearm around 7:55 p.m., according to the NYPD.
Police responded to a subway platform at the West 238th Street and Broadway station in the Kingsbridge section after people called 911 about a man there with a gun.
“The callers described a man acting crazy, waving a gun at a crowd, which included children,” NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper said at a news conference Thursday night.
Kemper said the responding police officers found the man at the subway platform and ordered him to drop the gun.
“The male refused to comply with their directions and began walking southbound on the train catwalk, parallel to the train track. He was walking southbound on the catwalk toward the next stop, which was 231st Street,” Kemper said.
The officers continued to follow the man, ordering him to drop his gun and stop, officials said. As the man with the gun approached 231st Street, other police officers met him there and “sandwiched” him between the officers, according to Kemper.
“Multiple times this individual pointed that firearm at these officers up on the catwalk area. It was at that point, that he pointed the gun again at the officers, where one of the officers fired one round, striking this individual one time to his left hand. That gunshot hit his left hand, causing the gun to drop, and ended the threat.”
The man was hospitalized in stable condition. None of the officers were injured during the incident.
Man shot dead by police in Brooklyn
The first police-involved shooting of the day happened in the afternoon in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Police shot and killed a 78-year-old man right outside his own apartment, NYPD officials said.
Two NYPD officers responded to the apartment on Lewis Avenue after a 911 caller said someone was breaking into his uncle’s home there, police officials said. The officers knocked on the apartment and the 78-year-old man opened the door with a gun in hand, according to NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey.
“A male opens the door. He opens the door partially. His body is turned to the side. His left hand is down to the side of his body,” Maddrey said. “The male starts to raise up his left hand, and he has a firearm in his hand. Our officers observed the firearm. They started yelling ‘no!’ They start retreating. The male raises the firearm up and actually steps out of the apartment with the firearm pointed at the officers.”
The two officers shot the man multiple times after he pointed the gun at them, according to Maddrey. The man was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The man was not the possible burglary suspect mentioned in the initial 911 call, officials said. He was the person who lived in the apartment. Police believe the man they killed was the uncle who the 911 caller was referring to.
“This is a tragic situation. Our officers were put in a life-or-death situation investigating a crime in progress,” Maddrey said. “Hopefully as our investigative units start to unravel exactly what happened here, we’ll learn more about the male here, we’ll learn more about exactly what happened.”
Police shoot knife-wielding man in Queens
Then, in Queens, police shot a knife-wielding man after he allegedly stabbed a security guard outside a church, officials said.
The shooting happened in Jamaica outside First Presbyterian Church on 164th Street around 3:40 p.m., police said. Officers shot the 59-year-old man after he advanced toward them with a knife in hand, according to NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell.
Police said the incident began when a woman saw the knife-wielding man acting erratically in front of the church. The woman went into the church to fetch a security guard. The security guard went outside, confronted the knife-wielding man and was stabbed once in the stomach, according to police.
The security guard went back into the church and someone called 911. Police responded to the location and found the man with the knife.
“The male gets up with his knife, starts waving it at the officers and starts coming toward the officers. Our officers give commands to drop the knife, which he does not,” Chell said.
The officers shot the man twice. He was hospitalized in stable condition.
Chell said the suspect doesn’t have a criminal history with the NYPD, but he does have a documented record of mental illness.
Chell praised the actions of the security guard, who was hospitalized and is expected to be OK.
“The actions of the security guard from the First Presbyterian Church — the administrative building that was occupied with many people — he did a great job in confronting the male with the knife and stopping maybe this male getting into that location and causing more damage,” Chell said.
