Cops shoot man who pointed fake gun at them on Bronx street

Police officers shot and critically injured a suspect who pointed what turned out to be an “imitation firearm” at them on a Bronx street early Saturday morning.

Law enforcement sources said the police-involved shooting happened at about 12:38 a.m. on Dec. 14 along East 167th Street between Findlay and Clay Avenues.

According to NYPD Chief of Patrol Fausto Pichardo, two uniformed members of the 44th Precinct responded to a 911 call about a person armed with a firearm. The caller indicated that the armed individual had pointed the weapon at them while walking in the area of East 167th Street and Grant Avenue, about three blocks away.

The responding officers spotted a man holding a weapon in his hand, then ordered him to show his hands, Pichardo said. That’s when the suspect pointed the weapon at the officers, who responded by opening fire.

“Two uniformed officers discharged their firearms, striking the suspect in the torso,” Pichardo said. “The officers immediately rendered aid to the suspect and requested an ambulance to the scene.”

Paramedics were called to the scene, and they rushed the suspect to a local hospital in critical condition. Pichardo said the responding officers were also hospitalized for evaluation.

Investigators recovered the suspect’s weapon — a knife apparently fashioned to resemble a gun.

The entire incident was captured by the officers’ body cameras, and footage will be reviewed as part of the NYPD Force Investigation Division’s inquiry into the case, Pichardo added.