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| N.Y.P.D. Officer Saved by Vest in Harlem Shooting as Naked Suspect Is Killed | N.Y.P.D. Officer Saved by Vest in Harlem Shooting as Naked Suspect Is Killed |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Police officers shot and killed a naked man armed with a gun during a struggle in the hallway of a Harlem building just after 2 a.m. on Wednesday, law enforcement officials said. One officer was also hit by a bullet during the confrontation but survived. | Police officers shot and killed a naked man armed with a gun during a struggle in the hallway of a Harlem building just after 2 a.m. on Wednesday, law enforcement officials said. One officer was also hit by a bullet during the confrontation but survived. |
| It was the fifth deadly shooting by the New York police in the last month. | It was the fifth deadly shooting by the New York police in the last month. |
| Eight uniformed officers had responded to a call from a woman in the building who said someone had been banging on her door and breaking glass. | Eight uniformed officers had responded to a call from a woman in the building who said someone had been banging on her door and breaking glass. |
| They were searching the second-floor hallway of 2785 Frederick Douglass Boulevard when one of the officers encountered a naked man armed with a 9-millimeter pistol, the police commissioner, James P. O’Neill, said. | They were searching the second-floor hallway of 2785 Frederick Douglass Boulevard when one of the officers encountered a naked man armed with a 9-millimeter pistol, the police commissioner, James P. O’Neill, said. |
| “A violent struggle immediately began and shots were fired,” the commissioner said. | “A violent struggle immediately began and shots were fired,” the commissioner said. |
| The officer yelled for help as he struggled with the man and other officers opened fire, hitting the man several times, mortally wounding him. The officer who was grappling with the man was also hit, but his bulletproof vest stopped the slug, the commissioner said, noting that he had reviewed footage recorded on the officers’ body cameras. | |
| The man, 27, was taken to Harlem Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead. He has not been identified by the police, but Commissioner O’Neill said he had been arrested and accused of domestic violence in the past. It was unclear if the man had fired his gun. | |
| The woman who called the police, Selena McNeal, identified the dead man as the building’s superintendent, whom she knew only as “Victor.” He lived with his wife and two children on the second floor, she said. | The woman who called the police, Selena McNeal, identified the dead man as the building’s superintendent, whom she knew only as “Victor.” He lived with his wife and two children on the second floor, she said. |
| Ms. McNeal said the superintendent had been yelling and screaming in the hall for about 20 minutes, making vulgar threats about a woman, before she called 911. | Ms. McNeal said the superintendent had been yelling and screaming in the hall for about 20 minutes, making vulgar threats about a woman, before she called 911. |
| She said she briefly opened the door and saw him. “He was butt-naked,” Ms. McNeal said. “But I didn’t see a gun. I saw something that looked like a laptop or a tablet.” | |
| Ms. McNeal then shut the door. Minutes later, she said, the police arrived, pouring out of the elevator. She heard a struggle and then officers yelling, “Shoot him! Shoot him! Shoot him!” Ten shots rang out in quick succession, she said. “Pop, pop, pop, pop.” | |
| Then she heard officers shout, “Watch the fire.” Shortly afterward, she said she heard them yelling at one another, “Where is the gun?” | |
| During the shooting, Ms. McNeal said, she was hiding under her bed in tears. After the confrontation ended, she again opened the door and saw the man lying on the floor face up. The police later told her that what she thought was a tablet was actually a gun. | |
| “I’m still crying,” Ms. McNeal said. “I close my eyes and it’s all I can see and hear.” | |
| The officer who was shot was also punched several times in the face and was being treated at a hospital, Commissioner O’Neill said. | The officer who was shot was also punched several times in the face and was being treated at a hospital, Commissioner O’Neill said. |
| The police have shot and killed five people since Sept. 29, when Officer Brian Mulkeen was killed in a police fusillade while struggling with an armed man in the Bronx. | The police have shot and killed five people since Sept. 29, when Officer Brian Mulkeen was killed in a police fusillade while struggling with an armed man in the Bronx. |
| On Oct. 15, in two separate encounters, officers fatally shot two armed men, one in the Gowanus Houses in Brooklyn and one at the 225th Street subway station in the Bronx. Two days later, also in the Bronx, a police sergeant shot and killed a man during a traffic stop. | On Oct. 15, in two separate encounters, officers fatally shot two armed men, one in the Gowanus Houses in Brooklyn and one at the 225th Street subway station in the Bronx. Two days later, also in the Bronx, a police sergeant shot and killed a man during a traffic stop. |
| Officer Mulkeen was the second officer to be killed by “friendly fire” this year. In February, Detective Brian Simonsen was hit in the chest and killed as he and other officers were firing at a robber in a cellphone store in Queens. The robber turned out to have a fake gun. | Officer Mulkeen was the second officer to be killed by “friendly fire” this year. In February, Detective Brian Simonsen was hit in the chest and killed as he and other officers were firing at a robber in a cellphone store in Queens. The robber turned out to have a fake gun. |
| In Harlem on Wednesday, most residents of the neighborhood were asleep when the confrontation unfolded. Later that morning, curious parents walking their children to school stopped and stared at police officers standing behind yellow tape that blocked off the northwest corner of Frederick Douglass Boulevard and 148th Street. | In Harlem on Wednesday, most residents of the neighborhood were asleep when the confrontation unfolded. Later that morning, curious parents walking their children to school stopped and stared at police officers standing behind yellow tape that blocked off the northwest corner of Frederick Douglass Boulevard and 148th Street. |
| Neighbors said they knew the superintendent at the building as a quiet man named Victor. The owner of 148 Deli Grocery, Jerome Selassie, 55, said he knew Victor had been working as a superintendent for about a year. He and his wife often shopped together at the corner store, located across the street from the site of the shooting. | Neighbors said they knew the superintendent at the building as a quiet man named Victor. The owner of 148 Deli Grocery, Jerome Selassie, 55, said he knew Victor had been working as a superintendent for about a year. He and his wife often shopped together at the corner store, located across the street from the site of the shooting. |
| “He was always polite, smiling,” Mr. Selassie said. “I saw him last night, at around midnight. He was running to his apartment because it was raining. He waved at me. That was the last time I saw him. He looked O.K. to me. He was never violent that I know.” | “He was always polite, smiling,” Mr. Selassie said. “I saw him last night, at around midnight. He was running to his apartment because it was raining. He waved at me. That was the last time I saw him. He looked O.K. to me. He was never violent that I know.” |
| The shooting took place across from the offices of Police Service Area 6, which serves several public housing developments in Harlem. Officers walking out of the building on Wednesday shook their heads somberly and cautioned one another to “be safe.” | The shooting took place across from the offices of Police Service Area 6, which serves several public housing developments in Harlem. Officers walking out of the building on Wednesday shook their heads somberly and cautioned one another to “be safe.” |
| “It’s crazy that it happened right in front of the precinct,” said Fred Marshall, 44, who lives in the area. | “It’s crazy that it happened right in front of the precinct,” said Fred Marshall, 44, who lives in the area. |
| He added: “Why do they always have to kill them, man? There are other things they could have done to put him down.” | He added: “Why do they always have to kill them, man? There are other things they could have done to put him down.” |
| The officer who was shot was taken to Mount Sinai St. Luke’s hospital, where he was in “good spirits” after the shooting, Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference. | |
| The officer, who has not yet been identified, is a seven-year veteran of the force whose wife is also a police officer. He is 32 years old. | |
| He was released from the hospital in a wheelchair less than six hours after the shooting and was met from applause by fellow officers as he was escorted to a waiting police van. | He was released from the hospital in a wheelchair less than six hours after the shooting and was met from applause by fellow officers as he was escorted to a waiting police van. |
| Ashley Southall and Michael Gold contributed reporting. | Ashley Southall and Michael Gold contributed reporting. |