NEW YORK (PIX11) — Mayor Zohran Mamdani reacted to the police-involved shooting in which NYPD officers fatally shot an alleged knife-wielding man.
54-year-old Wei Chan was shot and killed by officers responding to a reported assault on Ludlow Street on the Lower East Side Sunday afternoon.
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Police said Chan had a large knife in his hand as he descended towards officers on a bloody staircase inside the apartment building. Officers issued multiple commands for Chung to drop the knife before fatally shooting him, police said.
The knife police say 54-year-old Wei Chan was armed with at the time of the shooting inside a Ludlow Street apartment building. (Credit: NYPD)
The mayor, who is on vacation upstate, took to social media to comment on the incident, calling the confrontation “tragic.”
Chan’s 75-year-old father was injured as well, with lacerations to his head, according to police.
“I am wishing him a full and speedy recovery,” Mamdani added. As with every incident in which NYPD officers discharge their weapons, there will be an internal investigation, and body-worn camera footage of the incident will be released.
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Assistant Chief Melissa Eger said the 54-year-old son had no criminal record, but has a “documented mental health history” with the NYPD.
Neither NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch nor Attorney General Letitia James had commented on the shooting as of Sunday night.
The investigation is ongoing.
Spencer Gustafson is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered New York state and city news since 2023. See more of his work here.