Officer Kills Man Shooting At Police After Brooklyn Traffic Stop: NYPD

BROOKLYN, NY — The NYPD said an officer fatally shot a man in Downtown Brooklyn Saturday night after he ran away from a traffic stop and opened fire on the officer.

The man, who the New York Post identified as Malik Williams, was killed at Rockwell Place and Lafayette Avenue, near Whole Foods Market about 7:40 p.m., after firing multiple shots at an officer during a three-block chase following a traffic stop, police officials said.

The officer fired back, shooting the man in the chest, according to the NYPD. He died at a nearby hospital, NYPD Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said at a news conference later that night.

The man fatally shot in the gunfire exchange was sitting in the front passenger seat of a gold Nissan about 7:30 p.m. when police pulled the car over on Nevins Street near Flatbush Avenue for breaking traffic laws, NYPD officials said.

After investigating the car for about seven minutes, officers asked everybody inside to get out of the vehicle, at which point the man ran off, Maddrey said.

A three-block chase zig-zagging down Flatbush Avenue ensued, culminating in the gunfire exchange and fatal shooting, he said.

The officer who chased and shot the man was taken to the hospital and treated for ringing in his ears, among other things, according to Maddrey.

As of Saturday night, police were still investigating the fatal shooting, which is one of two instances in which NYPD officers killed people over the weekend.

About an hour before the Brooklyn shooting, a Queens man who neighbors said was mentally ill was killed by police during a shootout after threatening to kill Governor Kathy Hochul and other officials, Maddrey confirmed.

Mayor Eric Adams defended police at a press conference the following day, saying officers were justified in both fatal shootings.

"That officer was able to discharge his firearm and terminate a threat," Adams reportedly said of the officer who killed the man in Brooklyn.

"I stopped by the 88[th Precinct] to see our officer and just really thank him. He's a real hero."