By Amanda Lien
NEW YORK — A man threatened NYPD officers with a knife and a black powder pistol Wednesday morning planning to commit “suicide by cop,” NYPD officials said.
NBC New York reports officers fired nine times, hitting the 55-year-old man in the hip and back, after he advanced on them with the gun and refused orders to stop moving.
The man sustained non-life-threatening injuries. He told officers at the hospital that he was diagnosed with the coronavirus and wanted them to shoot him. It is unclear if the man is actually infected.
“We spoke to the individual as to his motivations and his statement to us was that he had just been diagnosed with COVID last night,” NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan told NBC New York. “He is overweight, has diabetes, he thought he was gonna die so he wanted the cops to shoot and kill him. So this was apparently attempted suicide by police officer.”
It is unclear what will happen to the officers and other personnel who responded in terms of testing or quarantine, NBC New York reports. As of Wednesday morning, the NYPD has more than 6,100 officers out sick, including 1,400 who tested positive for COVID-19.