Naked Gunman Shot Dead By Cops In Harlem Hallway, Police Say

HARLEM, NY — A naked man armed with a semi-automatic handgun shot a cop in the chest during a violent struggle in a Harlem hallway that cost him his life, according to police.

Victor Hernandez, 29, died hours after a shoot-out in an apartment building on Frederick Douglass Boulevard and West 148th Street about 1:50 a.m., Police Commissioner James P. O'Neill said.

Police rushed to the building after a woman called 911 and reported that Hernandez was banging on her door and breaking glass, police said. The behavior was described as erratic for Hernandez, who worked in the building as a super, police officials said.

Police officers began canvassing the building after arriving and found Hernandez on the second floor armed with a Jimenez nine-millimeter pistol, Chief Kevin Maloney of the Force Investigation Division said during a Thursday press conference. Hernandez engaged police in a standoff which lasted several minutes, and then police officer Chrisopher Wintermute walked down the building hallway to engage the man.

When Wintermute reached the end of the hallway, a violent struggle ensued, Maloney said. During the struggle both Hernandez and Wintermute fired their guns, with one round from Hernandez's pistol striking Wintermute in the chest, Maloney said. Two other officers from the NYPD's 32nd Precinct then fired at Hernandez, hitting the man 10 times, Maloney said.

In total, 17 rounds were fired from NYPD weapons during the struggle, Maloney said. Ballistic analysis confirmed that the bullet that struck Wintermute was fired from Hernandez's gun and was not friendly fire.

Wintermute's bullet-resistant vest prevented him from being seriously injured, police said. Mayor Bill de Blasio described the officer as being in "good spirits" after a Wednesday hospital visit.

The vest did not protect him from the naked man's punches, though, and he was struck in the face, police said.

The 34-year-old 32nd Precinct cop, who has been with the NYPD since 2012, was in stable condition when medics took him to St. Luke's Hospital, police said.

Medics pronounced Hernandez dead at the scene of the shooting, police said.