Source: Bronx Man Armed With Knife, Pistol Shot By NYPD Claimed To Have Coronavirus
Note: This post was updated with the suspect's name and charges at 6 a.m. on April 2, 2020.
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – NYPD officers shot a man armed with a knife and gun early this morning in the Bronx.
After the shooting, the suspect told police he tested positive for coronavirus, a police source told CBS2. He apparently wanted the officers to shoot him, the source said.
Police said two officers responded to a 911 call for a man with a knife around 4 a.m. near the intersection of Zarega and Westchester avenues in the Westchester Square section.
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The officers approached the suspect and ordered him to drop the knife and what appeared to be a gun.
Police said the man refused and advanced toward the officers, who then shot him nine times in the hip and back.
The suspect - identified as 55-year-old Ricardo Cardona - was rushed to Jacobi Medical Center in stable condition. He was tested for COVID-19, and his results were pending, the source said.
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The officers were also taken to an area hospital for observation but have since been released. It's unclear whether they be quarantined.
Investigators recovered a knife and what appeared to be a black powder pistol from the scene.
Cardona was charged with attempted assault on a police officer, two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and menacing a police officer.
