Police shot and killed a man in the West Village late on Thursday night after he allegedly pointed a fake handgun at them — the second deadly police shooting in the Big Apple that evening.
Law enforcement sources said the dramatic incident unfolded on Bedford Street at 6th Avenue at around 10:53 p.m. on Jan. 8, when officers from the 6th Precinct were flagged down by the driver of a Dodge who told them that a white BMW had collided with them and was attempting to flee the scene.
“The BMW was stopped in traffic. When the officers approached, a 37-year-old driver exited the BMW and drew what appeared to be a firearm and pointed it at the officers,” NYPD Assistant Chief James McCarthy said.
The cops responded by opening fire, striking the suspect multiple times about the body, McCarthy said.
Chief McCarthy stated that the suspect still clung to the apparent weapon even while he lay on the ground. Eyewitnesses said that cops could be heard screaming, “Drop the gun!” and “We want to help you!”
Police called for EMS, who rushed the man to Bellevue Hospital, where he could not be saved and was pronounced dead. Police sources later confirmed the unnamed man’s weapon was, in fact, an air pistol that appeared realistic.
A nearby Uber driver was on the way to pick up a passenger when he said he saw the gunfire erupt.
“There was a crazy number of gunshots. I smelled gunpowder. He had a gun, and the cops neutralized him,” Klein Babar said. “I got stuck in the crime scene and couldn’t leave.”
“I saw two cops pointing their weapons up Bedford Street, screaming, ‘Drop the ‘f**king gun.’ There were about 20 gunshots,” added another eyewitness, who asked to remain unnamed.
Another local resident, who gave her name as Allie, said she was inside her apartment when the gunfire erupted.
“I thought it was fireworks, and then after there was more, like pop, pop, pop,” Allie said. “I heard a lot of sirens, which normally wouldn’t be unusual, but they all converged in this area, super fast.”
The deadly Manhattan police shooting came hours after cops in Brooklyn shot and killed a man in apparent mental health distress at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.
Sources close to the case said the man — who allegedly created a sharp shiv out of a piece of a toilet — had started cutting himself and took a staff member hostage. Police opened fire on the man after he apparently charged at them with the shiv, leading to his death.
Both incidents are being investigated by the NYPD Force Investigation Division.
