Cops Fatally Shoot Murder Suspect In Harlem, Police Say

HARLEM, NY — Police shot and killed a man suspected of murdering a woman in a Central Harlem apartment building Wednesday night, NYPD officials said.

Officers responded to reports of a shooting at 1 St. Nicholas Terrace and West 127th Street at 6:50 p.m. to find an injured woman laying on the ground and two men — one armed with a knife — fighting in a fifth floor apartment, NYPD Chief of Patrol Fausto Pichardo told reporters Wednesday. An NYPD sergeant shot the knife-wielding suspect in the chest when he attempted to stab the other man, Pichardo said.

Multiple verbal commands were given to the man, who police believed to be a suspect, before the shots were fired, Pichardo said. Medics pronounced both the man, 44, shot by police and the woman, 45, found in the apartment dead at the scene, police said.

Police sources told the New York Post that the man shot by police was an MTA bus driver named Ubaldo Gomez. Gomez, a Bronx resident, also served as an NYPD auxiliary officer in the borough, according to the report. Auxiliary police officers are volunteers that are not issued service weapons or allowed to carry a gun on duty.

A 39-year-old man, identified as the owner of the apartment, was hospitalized in stable condition. Another woman, 41, was also inside the apartment at the time of the shooting but was not hurt, Pichardo said Wednesday night.

A bloody 12-inch kitchen knife and a pistol were recovered from the crime scene, police said.