NYPD shoots, kills knife-wielding man on Brooklyn Bridge after bomb threat
NEW YORK - The NYPD shot and killed a knife-wielding man who climbed on the beams of the Brooklyn Bridge and said he had a bomb, officials said.
The investigation shut down the eastbound lanes of the bridge for hours Friday morning.
What we know:
Jerry Dowling, commanding officer of the NYPD Force Investigation Division, said a 911 call came in at around 3:28 a.m. reporting a man was walking on the beams of the Brooklyn Bridge.
When officers arrived and saw the man was holding a knife, they climbed onto the cables to try and safely remove him from the bridge.
Dowling said the man told officers, "I want to die. I want you to kill me. I have a bomb."
"Officers continued to try to convince the male to safely get off the bridge while also issuing multiple verbal commands for him to drop the knife," he added.
After about an hour, Dowling said the man started descending with the knife, getting closer to the officers. The officers on the cables tried moving back, but the man was moving quickly toward them.
Dowling said an officer shot the man moments after he extended the knife toward another officer from about three feet away.
The man was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital.
What we don't know:
Police did not immediately release the man's name.
What's next:
The officer-involved shooting remains under investigation.
The Source: This article includes information from an NYPD news conference and visuals from SkyFOX over the Brooklyn Bridge.