Police: Officer Shoots, Kills Man Who Stabbed Him In Brighton Beach
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - A police officer shot and killed a man who stabbed him in the neck in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, officials said Thursday.
Around 1:15 p.m., NYPD Transit District 54 Officer Filippo Gugliara, 24, was in uniform on a transit foot post at the Ocean Parkway Q Train station, police Commissioner Bill Bratton said at a news conference at NYU Lutheran Medical Center.
He heard a commotion below the elevated subway stop, near Sea Breeze Avenue and West 1st Street, and came downstairs to find a 58-year-old man who had just assaulted a 78-year-old woman, Bratton said.
The man had been involved in an earlier conflict at a nearby store, and he assaulted the woman when she tried to intervene, Bratton said.
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The quarrel between the suspect and the older woman had caught the eyes and ears of several passersby, CBS2's Alice Gainer reported.
When Officer Gugliara confronted the man, he stabbed the officer in the neck with an 11-inch hunting knife, Bratton said. The knife was deflected by the shoulder strap of the officer's vest, but he was still wounded in the neck, Bratton said.
The officer fired two rounds at the suspect, striking him in the torso, Bratton said. The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene, Bratton said.
"I hear three shots – boom, boom, boom!" said area resident Roman Tokar. "Police came like in three minutes -- like 40 cars all over the place; shut the place down."
Officer Gugliara was rushed to NYU Lutheran, where his condition was stable, Bratton said. He received stitches and underwent testing, and was able to talk to Bratton and Mayor Bill de Blasio at the hospital.
The suspect's identity was being withheld late Thursday afternoon pending family notification, Bratton said.
Bratton came to the scene before heading to the hospital.
There did not appear to be a connection between the suspect and the 78-year-old woman he allegedly assaulted, Bratton said.
Mayor de Blasio said Officer Gugliara was a perfect example of a police officer who goes above and beyond the call of duty for his fellow New Yorkers.
"He was brave. He pursued this perp, followed his training, did the right thing – went toward the danger. It was so good to see him, thank God, in great shape upstairs," de Blasio said. "This is an example to the city of the kind of men and women who join the NYPD."
The mayor noted that Gugliara left his post to help someone – and placed himself in danger in doing so.
"He heard the cries of an elderly woman. He went to the scene, he confronted the perpetrator, and thank God the officer came out OK," de Blasio said.
The suspect's knife was recovered at the scene, Bratton said. Details were still being investigated late Thursday afternoon.