BAY SHORE, N.Y. (1010 WINS) — Suffolk County police officers shot a man Tuesday afternoon who advanced on them while carrying an unsheathed sword, Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said.
At about 1:30 p.m., officers responded to a residence in North Bay Shore after receiving a 911 call from a man with a history of mental illness who claimed he was holding hostages and threatened to hurt them.
The police commissioner said that the man, 33, was inside the home on Ohio Avenue between Massachusetts and Rhode Island avenues when officers arrived and walked up to the doorway of the residence.
When the suspect emerged, he was carrying a sword.
“The officers immediately instructed the individual to drop the weapon, at which point he unsheathes the sword, and starts advancing on the officers. They again instruct him to drop the weapon,” Catalina said. “At this point one of the officers deploys his taser. He continues to advance at our officers, at which time they fire their weapons, striking the individual, who falls to the ground.”
The man was taken to South Shore University Hospital and underwent surgery. His condition was not immediately known, and the suspect was not identified by police.
There were no hostages in the home, and Catalina said that the incident could have been an attempted suicide-by-cop situation.
“He did make indications that he was suicidal after he was shot,” he told reporters.
The incident was captured on body camera and an investigation is ongoing.
No officers were physically harmed in the incident.
“The officers are doing OK. Again, they were treated for trauma, I mean this is a tough thing to go through,” Catalina said. “So, you know, we hope they’re OK. And physically they’re fine, but mentally it’s a tough thing to deal with.”