Police officers shot a man who charged at them with a knife outside a grocery store in East Harlem early Monday morning, NYPD officials said.
At around 1:36 a.m., police said, officers responded to a call of a 53-year-old man outside a grocery store harassing employees after getting into a verbal argument with another customer on 3rd Avenue between 120nd and 121st Streets.
NYPD Inspector Andrew Natiw said at an early morning media briefing that the man was carrying a “large kitchen knife,” approximately 13 inches long, in his hand and was banging on the window of the shop.
Natiw said officers were immediately confronted by the man when they arrived on scene and gave multiple commands for him to drop the knife. Natiw said the man then approached the officers with the knife extended out, and one officer shot the man.
NYPD officials did not at the media briefing say how many bullets were fired. The man was transferred to Harlem Hospital in critical but stable condition, Natiw said. He didn’t disclose the man’s identity.
The officers involved in the shooting were also transferred to a local hospital for an evaluation, he said. NYPD officials said the entire incident was captured on body-worn cameras, and an investigation is ongoing.
This story is based on preliminary information from police and may be updated.
