A 61-year-old man armed with a large knife refused numerous commands to drop his weapon and was shot to death by NYPD cops when he lunged at them on a Queens street Monday morning, police said.
The confrontation, captured on police body-worn cameras, sparked off about 6:20 a.m. in the middle of the intersection at 30th Ave. and 31st St. in Astoria, cops said.
Cops rushed the scene after numerous 911 calls described a man armed with a large knife and acting erratically. One caller believed the suspect was going to attack someone, NYPD Chief of Department John Chell said.
Officers tried to contain the suspect, Chell said, repeatedly commanding him to “Drop the knife.”
Chell said the suspect over the course of 56 seconds refused to drop his his 14-inch long knife and that more than one officer fired a Taser at the suspect but were unable to subdue him.
When he made a move towards the officers, knife still in hand, police “were forced to defend themselves,” Chell said.
Three officers fired, a police source said, striking the suspect.
The suspect was rushed by medics to Elmhurst Hospital but could not be saved.
The officers were not hurt but were taken to Astoria General Hospital to be treated for ringing in their ears.
The suspect has a history of mental illness, with police twice before responding to incidents in which he was in distress, police said.
Chell said the goal when dealing with mentally ill suspects “is to slow down and de-escalate the situation.”
“The ultimate goal is getting the person the help they need,” he added. “However, during fast-moving and hectic situations with an armed person we are forced to defend ourselves.”
The incident is the seventh time this year in which NYPC cops shot an armed suspect.
Three of the suspects were armed with a knife, most recently Longqian Chen, 49, who attacked his daughter and three nieces with a meat cleaver inside the family’s apartment in Bensonhurst on April 6. Chen almost attacked officers, police said, but they shot and wounded him.
