A man was killed by New York City police officers in the famed Coney Island area after he allegedly threatened to shoot two women, police said.
An NYPD patrol sergeant and another officer were in the vicinity of West 36 Street and Mermaid Avenue in Coney Island, in the borough of Brooklyn, when they heard shots fired around 10:15 p.m.
They were then approached by two women yelling that there was a person up the block firing a gun, NYPD Chief of Patrol Jeffrey B. Maddrey said in a press briefing early Friday.
Two 911 calls came in and ShotSpotter technology, a gunshot detection system, activated after the gunfire.
Three units responded to the corner of West 36th Street and Neptune Avenue, including one police marked vehicle with two uniformed officers and two unmarked vehicles manned by public safety officers, Maddrey said.
As soon as the units arrived to the corner, officers saw a male with a gun. When officers exited their vehicles to approach him, he “immediately starts shooting at the officers,” Maddrey said.
Officers responded by firing their weapons. It’s not clear how many shots were fired in the exchange. Maddrey said it is believed that four officers opened fire.
The suspect eventually got down on the ground, but continued to shoot at the officers.
When he finally stopped, officers closed in on him, and performed live saving measures on him, but he succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
Maddrey said as of early Friday, the suspect had not been identified yet.
The officers were removed to local hospitals to be treated. The status and nature of their injuries is not clear as of Friday morning.
Police said that the impetus to the shooting was a “domestic violence incident” and the two women who flagged down the sergeant were believed to be victims in the case.
They were taken to the 60th Precinct to speak with detectives.
The investigation into the officer involved shooting remains ongoing.
