Man Killed in Police Shooting After Road-Rage Incident in Manhattan

NEW YORK (VINnews) — A 37-year-old man was shot and killed by New York City police Thursday night after fleeing a reported road-rage crash and later confronting officers in Manhattan’s West Village, authorities said.

Officers on patrol were flagged down just before 11 p.m. near Bedford Street and Sixth Avenue by two people who said they had been involved in a traffic accident with a white BMW that was trying to leave the scene, police said.

Officers soon located the BMW stopped in traffic nearby and approached the vehicle. The driver got out and raised what appeared to be a firearm, police said. Officers opened fire after he aimed the weapon in their direction.

Investigators later determined the gun was a replica handgun resembling a Sig Sauer pistol. Police said the man ignored repeated commands to drop it. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 20 minutes later.

Two officers were transported to local hospitals for evaluation and were later released.

A witness said officers were shouting commands as the driver stepped out of the car, followed by several gunshots moments later. Another bystander said the BMW had been driving the wrong way shortly before the encounter.

The shooting was the second fatal police-involved incident in New York City within about five and a half hours.

Earlier Thursday evening, officers fatally shot a man at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in Park Slope after police said he barricaded himself in a room with a patient and a security guard while wielding a sharp object. Authorities said the man, who had been admitted to the hospital, ignored repeated commands to drop the weapon and advanced toward officers after attempts to subdue him with a Taser failed.

Both incidents were recorded on police body-worn cameras and remain under investigation by the NYPD’s Force Investigation Division.