Police shot and killed a man they say threatened officers with a knife as he scaled the cables of the Brooklyn Bridge early Friday morning, the NYPD said.
Officers received a report of a man walking on the beams of the bridge around 3:30 a.m., NYPD Emergency Service Unit Commanding Officer Gerry Dowling said at a briefing.
ESU officers climbed onto the cables themselves and spent nearly an hour trying to convince the man to come down safely, according to Dowling.
Dowling said the man refused to engage, telling officers, “I want to die. I want you to kill me. I have a bomb.”
After about an hour of trying to communicate with him, Dowling said the man suddenly began moving quickly down the cables towards officers.
The ESU officers were secured to the bridge with harnesses, which Dowling said made it difficult for them to move.
When the man got within around 3 feet of them, Dowling said the man raised the knife toward one of them, and an officer positioned on the bridge fired one shot, striking him.
ESU officers brought the man down from the cables and provided medical aid, according to Dowling. He was taken to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, where he was pronounced dead.
Dowling said an investigation will determine if the man’s claim that he had a bomb was credible. The knife and a flashlight were the only devices recovered at the scene so far.
The man’s name and age weren’t immediately released, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a statement on X about the incident saying, “As is standard when an NYPD officer discharges a firearm, the department will conduct an internal investigation, and body-worn camera footage will be released.”
The incident marks the second time in less than a week that NYPD officers fatally shot a person armed with a knife.
On Monday, officers shot and killed 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros, of Queens, after police said she fatally stabbed a 32-year-old woman and injured a 68-year-old man in a random attack in Times Square.
Police said Cisneros was shot after charging toward officers with two knives and telling them, “I will kill you.”