Police fatally shoot man holding imitation gun after West Village road rage crash
A road rage crash in the West Village ended with a driver fatally shot by police, in the second fatal police involved shooting in New York City in five hours.
The 37-year-old driver, behind the wheel of a BMW, had gotten into a crash at Bedford Street and Sixth Avenue just before 10:55 p.m. Thursday night.
The occupants of the other vehicle flagged down nearby police officers on patrol, who approached the vehicle as it was stuck in traffic.
"At that moment, a 37-year-old male exited the BMW, drew what appeared to be a firearm and pointed it at the officers. upon observing the firearm, the officers discharged the weapons," NYPD Assistant Chief James McCarthy said.
The driver was struck by the officers' gunfire. He was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital.
"The subject maintained possession of the firearm while officers repeatedly gave commands for him to drop the weapon," even after he was shot," McCarthy said. "The officers repeatedly, as shown on body worn camera, asked him to drop the gun, because they wanted to render him aid. He didn't say anything."
One witnesses said he saw the BMW driving on Sixth Avenue, "The wrong way, with its bumper dragging on the ground, around this corner, pursued by a minivan. Stopped at that stop sign, then backed into the minivan." The occupants of the minivan gout out and flagged down officers.
His imitation Sig Sauer handgun was recovered at the scene. Police will determine if it was operable.
The two officers were evaluated at local hospitals.
The gunfire was just five hours after police fatally shot a suspect who barricaded himself in a room with a patient and a security guard at New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.
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