NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Police shot and critically wounded a man who was holding a knife to his mother’s neck at a high-rise apartment building in the Bronx on Thursday night.
The shooting in Pelham Bay was the second police-involved shooting in the city since in two days. On Tuesday night, police fatally shot a man in a stolen Porsche in East New York after he allegedly drove at officers.
A security guard called 911 after hearing screams from a sixth-floor apartment of 1740 Mulford Ave., an 18-story residential tower.
Officers arriving around 11:20 p.m. encountered the 34-year-old man holding a knife to his mother’s neck inside the apartment.
“The male had his left arm around his mother’s neck and a large kitchen knife in his right hand,” NYPD Chief of Patrol Philip Rivera said at a press conference.
Rivera said the man ignored all verbal commands and continued to threaten his mother with the knife in hand, leading to the shooting.
“Our officers engaged the male in dialogue in an attempt to deescalate the situation,” Rivera said. “For over two and a half minutes, our officers attempted to get the male to put the knife down and free his mother.”
“As our officers were attempting this, the man made numerous threats to kill his mother, all while he was still holding her with his arm around her neck and holding the knife,” the chief said.
One officer discharged a single round, striking the man and freeing the mother, according to Rivera, who said police "ultimately saved a woman's life."
Officers then rendered aid to the man. He was taken to NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi in critical condition.
The mother was not physically injured and was in stable condition.
Two officers were taken to a hospital for evaluation.
A knife was recovered at the apartment, and the entire encounter was captured on officer-worn bodycam video, police said.
The NYPD’s force investigation division is investigating the shooting, as is standard procedure for shootings involving officers.
A neighbor, Nick, said even with 24-hour security he wasn't surprised an incident like this happened at the building.
"I'm not shocked, truthfully, the Bronx is pretty much like the Wild West nowadays," he said.