NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A 30-year-old man was shot to death on Saturday by an NYPD officer responding to an assault in progress in the Bronx in which a man slashed family members and held his mother at knife-point, the NYPD confirmed.
At about 11:15 a.m. on Saturday police responded to apartment 13G at 2865 Creston Avenue in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx, police said.
As officers got to the floor, they were met by the family member who had called 911.
They approached the apartment door and a 19-year-old girl ran screaming out of the apartment with apparent slice wounds to her facial area, officials said.
"When the cops entered the apartment, they observed in a very small confined space, a subject holding his mother in a front headlock with a large carving knife to her throat, and she was clearly injured and bleeding from the head area," NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said in a press conference Saturday afternoon.
Chell said that the officers gave multiple commands to the suspect to drop the knife, but he failed to do so.
An officer fired his gun and struck the suspect in the head, saving the mother's life, police said.
Responders rendered aid to the suspect, who was removed to a local hospital where he has since been pronounced dead, authorities said.
The man said he was going to kill his entire family and himself, police reported.
Chell confirmed that there is a documented history of domestic violence at apartment 13G.
"Every day in the city, our cops respond to calls for emotionally disturbed people … They always look for the best outcome. For the family, and for the emotionally disturbed person. Today was a complete tragedy during this holiday season. Thank God our cops got here quickly and saved this family from further harm," Chell said.
Police confirmed that neither responding officer was injured and that each officer has been on the job for just over two years.
"Two of our officers responded to a family's call for help. Which they responded to quickly, and were met with a chaotic, fast-moving situation, where they showed great composure and saved the life of a 45-year-old mother," Chell said.
