Bronx police officers shot and killed a crazed man who allegedly attacked his family with a knife in the Bronx on Friday morning, police said.
According to Chief of Patrol John Chell, officers from the 52nd Precinct rushed to a Bedford Park apartment building located at 2865 Creston Ave. at around 11:15 a.m. after a woman called 911 for aid. As the cops approached the 13th floor apartment, the 19-year-0ld woman who had apperently called for help came rushing out to meet them.
“[She] came screaming out of the apartment with an apparent slice wound to her facial area,” Chell said.
Inside the home, described as a confined space, the two cops — each with only two years on the job — came face-to-face with a hostage situation. Chief Chell reported that a 30-year-old emotionally disturbed man was found holding his 45-year-old mother in a headlock with a carving knife pressed to her throat; he was purportedly threatening to not only kill his own family but also himself. With their guns drawn, the officers tried to talk the man down. However, he apparently refused to drop the weapon.
“She was clearly injured and bleeding,” Chief Chell said. “Our officer discharged his firearm, striking the subject in the head and saved the mother’s life.”
It is believed the officers fired a single shot to stop the attack before attempting to perform CPR on the assailant. He was rushed to Saint Barnabas Hospital where he later died. Chell states the entire event was captured on police body-warn cameras.
Police say that the address, in which all three family members lived together, had a history of domestic violence reports, yet it is not immediately clear what triggered this deadly outburst.
The two injured women were rushed to Saint Barnabas Hospital with cuts to the facial area. They are in stable condition, police confirmed. While the responding officers were not apparently injured in the incident, they were also taken to a medical center for tinnitus after unleashing the gunfire.
A knife was recovered at the scene.
“Today was a complete tragedy during this holiday season, Thank God our cops got here quickly and saved this family from further harm,” Chief Chell said.
This story was updated at 4:03 p.m.
