Niagara Falls, N.Y. (WBEN) - An armed man was fatally shot by Niagara Falls Police after an exchange of gunfire on Thursday night in the 900 block of Niagara Avenue.
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Police officials say the 9-1-1 call was put in at around 9:35 p.m. ET when a woman said a man had fired a shot from his .22 caliber Luger revolver into her vehicle. Police add they could hear people in the background of the 9-1-1 call telling the woman to call the police.
Shortly after officers arrived on the scene, the woman quickly pointed out the 53-year-old man, who still had the gun in his right hand.
"Both officers gave numerous verbal commands for him to drop the gun. The male then raised the gun and fired one shot in the direction of the officers, striking a Niagara Falls Police patrol vehicle and narrowly missing one of the officers. Both officers returned gunfire, and the male suspect fell to the ground," detailed Niagara Falls Police Chief John Faso on Friday.
Officers then went to work rendering first aid to the gunman, who had suffered multiple gunshot wounds. After an ambulance arrived at the scene, the male was eventually transported to Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Niagara Falls Police Captain John Conti says the gun was recovered on site and contained six rounds. They found three rounds had been fired, while three rounds were still unspent inside the gun.
In addition, the 53-year-old man was a resident of the city having spent most of his life in Downstate New York, somewhere in the Bronx. When it came to his past criminal history, his experience with the Niagara Falls Police Department was pretty limited.
"He's been a victim of an assault and a larceny. He was also noted to be in one domestic incident, just an argument some time, but he does not have an extensive criminal history here. He has served time Downstate for previous gun possession that also include a robbery conviction. I believe he served somewhere in the area of eight years," said Conti on Friday.
No one else at the scene of the shooting was injured, and neither of the responding officers were struck by gunfire. Both officers are now on paid administrative leave, as per department protocols.
"I spoke to both of them this morning, and obviously that's my main concern right now is my two officers," said Chief Faso. "This is a traumatic incident for everybody involved. They're doing OK, and we're going to provide them with every resource we need to to get them through this.
"They did exactly what they were trained to do faced with a horrible, horrible situation. You're talking about one officer with about a year and 11 months on the job, another officer was just over two years on the job. They couldn't have handled that and faced with what they were faced better."
The name of the 53-year-old man is being withheld at this time.