NYPD Fatally Shoots Man After He Pointed Fake Gun At Officers

NEW YORK CITY — Police fatally shot a man after he pointed a fake gun at officers in the West Village late Thursday night.

The incident happened after a three-car crash near Bedford Street and Sixth Avenue around 11 p.m., police said.

Officers were flagged down to the scene after the driver of a BMW was allegedly trying to flee. When police approached the car, a 37-year-old driver of the BMW got out and pulled out an “imitation firearm," Assistant Chief James McCarthy of Patrol Borough Manhattan South said at a press conference after the incident early Friday.

“Once observing the [imitation] firearm, the officers discharged their weapons. The man maintained possession of the firearm while officers repeatedly gave commands for him to drop the weapon,” McCarthy told reporters.

The 37-year-old man was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Earlier on Thursday, police shot a man at New York Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in Park Slope who was allegedly threatening to kill multiple people.

Investigations remain ongoing for both incidents.