The NYPD killed a knife-wielding man who was arguing with a woman on a Queens street corner Saturday morning, the department said.
Two cops opened fired after the unidentified suspect refused repeated orders to drop the knife before and after officers hit him with a Taser around 4:10 a.m. near 103rd Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Corona, NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey told reporters at a briefing.
Two officers assigned to patrol the area “became aware of a dispute across the street from them. They walked over to investigate the dispute where they see a male with a knife. He’s engaged in a dispute with the female,” Maddrey said.
“The officers give repeated commands” to the suspect to drop the knife.
“The male didn’t listen,” Maddrey said, adding, “the officers used the Taser, the Taser does not work. The officers give further commands and then discharged their weapons, which stops the male,” Maddrey said.
The knife-wielding man was transported to Elmhurst Hospital, where he died from his injuries, Maddrey said.
Maddrey note there is “heavy nightlife” on Roosevelt Avenue and “we’ve seen some upticks in crime so we have a contingent of officer who work out here at night to keep people safe.”
Major crime is up 18% so far this year in the 115th precinct over the same period in 2023, according to police stats. Robbery is up nearly 50%, felony assaults up 13%, burglary 70% and grand larceny 15%.
Cops are investigating the relationship between the suspect and the woman, who was not harmed, Maddrey said.
The investigation is ongoing, the NYPD said.
