NYPD: Police accidentally kill unarmed man in confrontation

NEW YORK - An unarmed man who intervened in a confrontation between New York City police and a knife-wielding assailant died of a gunshot to the back after police fired shots, a medical examiner says.

NYPD spokesman Stephen Davis says Rafael Laureano, 47, was "inadvertently" struck by a police bullet on Monday in Brooklyn. The assailant who was also killed was identified as Francisco Carvajal, 51.

Police say Carvajal's former girlfriend called Laureano to help her at an apartment. It's not clear whose apartment it was. They say Laureano showed up at the residence and rushed past officers to confront the knife-wielding Carvajal.

Police say officers told Carvajal to drop the knife several times. Initially, they also said that Laureano had been stabbed before officers arrived. The medical examiner said no stab wounds were found on his body.

The woman and her two young children were not harmed.