Knife-wielding man shot, killed by NYPD officers in tense encounter on Roosevelt Island
NEW YORK -- A tense encounter between a man armed with a knife and NYPD officers turned deadly overnight.
A domestic disturbance call led to a massive police response at a Roosevelt Island apartment complex. Officers responding to multiple calls of a man threatening family members with a knife ended up shooting and killing the 21-year-old.
"The noise, the noise, it was horrendous. Are you kidding me? It was so many ambulance and police cars and the fire department. It was a lot," neighbor Josephine Issac said.
The caller, a relative, said the suspect was off his medication and under the influence of marijuana.
Four officers responded to 540 Main St. around 11:30 Friday night and split up once inside. While three got into an elevator, the fourth kept the lobby door open, waiting for backup.
Police say that's when the suspect suddenly emerged from a second elevator and charged towards the officer at the door, swinging a knife.
"That officer retreated outside of the lobby and then the suspect then charged towards the elevator occupied by our officers, still armed with the knife. The officers inside the elevator attempted to deploy a Taser and also discharged their firearms, striking the suspect," said NYPD Assistant Chief Christine Bastedenbeck.
Police say they tried administering first aid, but the suspect died an hour later at the hospital.
To neighbors, these calls for help end in tragedy far too often.
"I really feel sad. It's a very young person and could be helped," neighbor Daniela Grow said.
"How many times have you heard that? Where they have called the police because had have a mental health case in the house, and they come out and these people lose their child or their loved one. It's not the first time," Issac said.
No one else was injured in the shooting.
It remains under investigation by the NYPD's Force Investigation Division.
