NYPD: Woman Armed With Scissors, Bat Fatally Shot By Officer In Bronx
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police say an emotionally disturbed woman armed with scissors and a bat was shot and killed by an officer in the Bronx Tuesday evening.
Police said a 66-year-old woman was shot inside her apartment at Jaime Towers Housing at 630 Pugsley Ave. in the Castle Hills section of the Bronx shortly after 6 p.m.
NYPD Assistant Chief Larry Nikunen said a sergeant was responding to the scene after a neighbor called 911 to report the woman was emotionally disturbed. When the sergeant arrived at apartment 7E, he found the woman in the bedroom with scissors in her hands.
Nikunen said the sergeant was able to persuade the woman to put down the scissors, but when she was approaching the officer, she grabbed a baseball bat.
"As she attempted to strike the sergeant, he fired two shots from his service revolver, striking her in the torso," Nikunen said.
The woman was then transported to Jacobi Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
"They brought the ambulance, trying to resuscitate, but she wasn't moving," neighbor Maria Nieves said.
Nikunen said the sergeant was armed with a Taser, but it was not deployed during the incident.
Nikunen added there have been several incidents with the woman with similar types of calls.
Neighbors said the victim had a history of erratic behavior.
"The lady be hollering, screaming," Raphelle Gundy said. "You think she'd be in there wrestling with somebody, talking very violently."
CBS2's Tony Aiello reports the officer involved in the shooting is a white man and the victim is an African-American woman.
The community wants a full accounting of what happened and why.
"I don't want no officer hurt, but at the same time lives gotta matter, because everybody wants to live as long as they can," Carl Nickerson said.
"She had a bat, had a knife, doesn't matter," Paul Nickerson said. "Police officer should be trained to handle the situation accordingly."
New York City's Public Advocate Letitia James said in a statement she is "deeply concerned" about the shooting."
"I am calling for a swift and thorough investigation into this tragic incident and for the findings to be released publicly," James said.
The statement continued, "While we are still learning details about this evening's incident, I am renewing my call to expand the use of non-lethal use of force by the NYPD. I look forward to working with the NYPD toward common sense criminal justice measures that protect our police officers and the communities they serve."
Two Black Lives Matter activists are also at the scene.
The officer was not injured in the shooting.
The shooting is being investigated by the department's Force Investigation Division.
