NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A 37-year-old man was shot by police in the West Village late Thursday night after he fled a road rage incident and pointed a suspected handgun at responding officers, authorities said.
According to officials, the pursuit began near Bedford Street and 6th Avenue and ended when the suspect’s BMW became stuck in heavy traffic. As officers approached the vehicle around 11 p.m., the man exited and brandished what appeared to be a gun.
"Once observing the firearm, the officers discharged their weapons," NYPD Assistant Chief James McCarthy announced during a press conference following the incident. "The man maintained possession of the firearm while officers repeatedly gave commands for him to drop the weapon."
Investigators later determined the weapon was an imitation firearm.
This confrontation occurred just five hours after a separate, fatal police-involved shooting at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. In that earlier incident, a 62-year-old man barricaded himself in a hospital room with an elderly patient and a security guard while wielding a makeshift weapon. After refusing commands to drop the bloody object and advancing toward officers, the man was tased and then fatally shot.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the pair of shootings "devastating" and said they're "a reminder of the immense work that must be done to deliver genuine public safety."
"I know many are eager for answers. The NYPD is conducting an internal investigation — I will work with Commissioner Tisch to ensure this is as thorough and swift as possible," the mayor wrote on X.