NYPD officers shot and killed a man with a knife in midtown Manhattan Wednesday morning, and a woman and an officer suffered minor injuries, authorities said. Marc Santia reports.
NYPD officers shot and killed a man with a knife in midtown Manhattan Wednesday morning, and a woman and an officer suffered minor injuries, authorities said.
The 46-year-old man shot by police, identified by police as Garry Conrad Jr., had become "aggressive and belligerent" while trying to buy beer at Food Emporium at West 49th Street and Eighth Avenue around 8:30 a.m., according to police.
"He was swearing at the people in the store, towards the workers," NYPD Chief of Department James O’Neill said at the scene.
A retired state police officer alerted a uniformed NYPD officer, and the ruckus spilled onto the street. A struggle ensued and both Conrad and the NYPD officer fell to the ground outside the store.
Two other officers were called to the scene, and Conrad allegedly pulled out an 8-inch knife with a serrated blade. Police ordered Conrad to drop his weapon, and two of the officers opened fire when he approached them with the blade, police said at a press conference Wednesday morning.
The officers fired a total of nine shots, at least one of which struck and killed Conrad.
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Sharona Shriver, who lives in an apartment building near the crime scene, said she was doing her makeup when she heard the shots.
"He was face down with blood pouring out of his head. Looked like it was coming out of his head or upper body," she said. "A trail of blood."
Her roommate, Tamar Mendelson, said she heard about six shots, and when she looked out the window she saw the officer crying.
A 45-year-old woman in the busy intersection — steps away from the theater of the Broadway musical "The Book of Mormon" — was grazed by a bullet. Officials initially said the woman, later determined to be a bystander, had been arguing with Conrad and was slashed.
One of the officers was also injured, but NYPD officials said the officer was not hit by a bullet.
Both the woman and officer were taken to the hospital in stable condition. Conrad was pronounced dead at the scene.
An NBC 4 New York videographer was in the area at the time and also witnessed the shooting.
Chopper 4 footage from the busy intersection showed dozens of officers crowded around a sheet in the roadway.
The roadways were cordoned off with police tape, and officials said witnesses were being interviewed.
