A tense incident occurred on the Brooklyn Bridge, a major New York landmark, when a man armed with a knife walked along the bridge cables before charging at police officers who were trying to persuade him to come down, leading to him being shot dead by police.
New York City police officials said the incident happened on Friday morning local time, causing the Brooklyn Bridge to be closed and resulting in several hours of severe traffic congestion in the area.
Gerard Dowling, commander of the New York Police Department's Emergency Service Unit, revealed in a press briefing that the man told the police rescue team he wanted them to kill him and claimed to have a bomb.
Officers secured themselves to the bridge structure with safety harnesses and spent about an hour talking to the man, trying to persuade him by saying they wanted to help and take him down to safety. They repeatedly asked him to put down the knife, but he continued to hold the weapon.
Later, the man began quickly climbing down the cables while police officers lined up on the same cable below. The officers tried to move away but could not retreat as fast because the man was rapidly approaching them. When he came within about 3 feet of one officer, he raised the knife and lunged at the police. Another officer on the bridge roadway decided to fire one shot, after which the man was taken down from the cable and rushed to a hospital, where he later died.
Police stated that officers’ body cameras recorded the entire event. The identity of the deceased man has not been disclosed. Besides the knife, police also found a flashlight on him.
When reporters asked whether the police found any bomb as the man claimed, Gerard Dowling said that matter is still under investigation.
This incident occurred just four days after a woman randomly stabbed people with a knife in Times Square, resulting in one death before she was fatally shot by police as well.
. AP
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