Police Shoot, Injure Staten Island Man Who Swung Metal Pipe At Officers
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police in Staten Island opened fire on a man overnight.
Officers say the suspect was behaving erratically and came at them with a weapon.
A photo shows the metal pipe police said the 45-year-old suspect swung at officers Friday night, which prompted one to open fire.
Neighbors living near Malden Place and Falcon Avenue in Oakwood told CBS2's Christina Fan the man had a history of violent outbursts.
"I heard he was saying, 'Stop.' Don't know who he was talking to. I heard he was punching the tree trunk," one neighbor said.
"I kept hearing a lot of banging and I heard sirens coming in," another neighbor said.
"From speaking to my neighbors, he was mentally impaired because he was like that throughout the whole day," said another.
Officers arrived in the neighborhood just after 10:30 p.m. after getting a 911 call about an emotionally disturbed person.
They found the man inside an apartment complex and were able to bring him to an ambulance, but the situation escalated when he tried to run back home, police said.
"While being tended to by EMS, he left the ambulance, pushing his way past the officers and running, retreating back into his residence into a second floor apartment," said Deputy Chief Charles McEvoy. "The officers followed him inside, where he was able to pick up a two-and-a-half foot metal pipe, which he began to swing at the officers."
Police said one officer fired his weapon, hitting the man in the torso.
An ambulance rushed the man to Staten Island University North Hospital, where he was last reported to be in stable condition.
Neighbors hope he gets the treatment he needs.
"Mentally disturbed people and they don't get the help they need, it's sad, and it's scary because we have to walk by them," one neighbor said.
Police say the two officers who first responded to the call were uninjured.
CBS2's Christina Fan contributed to this report.