NYPD officer shoots man after he charged at police with knife in East Harlem

A man was shot after the NYPD said he charged at officers with a kitchen knife outside of an East Harlem grocery store.

The incident happened early Monday morning after a 53-year-old got into a verbal fight with another person inside the City Fresh Market on East 120th Street and Third Avenue.

Multiple employees had to physically remove him from the store, the NYPD said. The man returned to the store a short time later with a large kitchen knife in his hand, banging on the window, according to police.

Surveillance video shows the man wielding a 13-inch knife, yelling, pressing against the store's glass and ripping down signs. 

Employees locked the door and called 911 just after 1:30 a.m. 

When officers arrived, they told the man to drop the knife multiple times, but he "quickly advanced toward the officers with the knife extended out."

An officer shot him in the abdomen. He was taken to Harlem Hospital and is in stable condition, police said.

One man who works in the neighborhood said it can be a dangerous area.

"You don't know what's going to happen day or night," he said. "A lot of people walking around, you don't know what they're gonna do. Pretty worrying." 

The responding officers were taken to a local hospital to be evaluated, but were not injured.

The NYPD recovered the knife at the scene as they continue to investigate.