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Bronx man shot by officers after calling 911, NYPD says

Police shoot 911 caller who approached officers with knife, NYPD says
Police shoot 911 caller who approached officers with knife, NYPD says 02:00

NEW YORK -- An investigation is underway after a man who called 911 to report a crime was shot by police in New York City.

Police said officers responded to an apartment building in the Bronx after receiving a 911 call about an air conditioner being stolen on the second floor. When they couldn't locate the apartment, they walked down to the first floor and found a man coming up the stairs with a kitchen knife in his hand.

Officer told man "drop the knife," detectives say

Detectives said one officer told the man to "wait and drop the knife," and even put her hand up for him to stop. However, police say the man swiftly approached the officers, and that's when one officer fired her weapon and shot the man in the torso.

NYPD Deputy Chief Rohan Griffith described the confrontation as "lasting only a few seconds in an extremely tight stairwell."

"We believe that the male with the knife was actually the 911 caller. After calling 911, the male exited the building and confronted a male that was in the side courtyard of that building. The 911 caller then re-entered, started to run up the stairs right at the officers with a knife in his right hand," Griffith said.

It happened at 335 West 148th Street in the Mott Haven section shortly before 6 p.m. Sunday.    

Unclear if man understood officers

The 32-year-old man with the knife was taken to Lincoln Hospital and is listed in stable condition. Police said he spoke Spanish, and they are trying to find out if the officers understood him and vice versa.

The incident was recorded on both officers' body worn cameras, and the building was also equipped with security cameras that captured the incident, police said. 

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