A 24-year-old robbery suspect was fatally shot Saturday during a "violent physical struggle" with two detectives in a Manhattan apartment building, police said.
Authorities withheld the name of the suspect pending notification of his family.
As two detectives approached the sixth-floor apartment in the East Village, where the suspect was believed to be, the suspect bolted out a window and down a fire escape, said New York City Police Department Chief Jim O'Neill. The detectives caught up with him in a hallway and a "violent physical struggle" ensued, the chief said during a news conference.
During the struggle, the suspect grabbed a hand-held radio from one detective and struck him in the head with it, O'Neill said. The fight continued for about five minutes before one detective drew his weapon and fired a single shot, hitting the suspect in the torso, he said.
The suspect, who was wanted in connection with the robbery of a woman on Thursday, died at Mount Sinai Beth Israel hospital, O'Neill said.
The incident occurred at 1:45 p.m. at a halfway house at 538 E. Sixth St.
The two detectives, who were not identified, were taken to a hospital, where one was treated for injuries to the head and shoulder.
Local
The suspect was accused of confronting a 21-year-old woman on Thursday as she was giving a presentation at City College, according to the NYPD. The two then argued in a hallway and the suspect repeatedly punched the woman and stole her purse, which contained her keys, cash, credit cards and identification, investigators said. He fled the scene and eluded a police search.
