New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers shot and killed a man wielding a knife at a Brooklyn hospital on Thursday.
The incident occurred around 5:30 p.m. at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, according to police.
Officers responded to a report of a man armed with a sharp object inside the hospital, located in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. The man, whose identity has not yet been released, was shot by the NYPD.
According to 911 calls, the suspect had barricaded himself in a room with other people. The suspect had injured himself and also attempted to harm others, police said in a press conference Thursday.
Hospital staff told responding officers that they had also received death threats from the suspect, according to police.
Upon arriving on the eighth floor of the hospital, police gave the suspect verbal commands to exit the room and drop the weapon.
The suspect attempted to close the door to the room several times, police shared in Thursday’s press conference. The suspect, who had been admitted to the hospital on Wednesday, then approached the officers with a weapon, and they deployed a Taser, which was ineffective.
Verbal communication continued between the officers and the armed suspect, who again advanced toward the officers with the knife in hand.
After deploying their Tasers a second time without success, police opened fire on the suspect, who was pronounced dead minutes later, according to the NYPD.
The weapon was recovered at the scene. Police do not know how the man obtained the weapon.
Hospital spokespeople declined to comment and referred questions to the police.