A man who threatened multiple people with a gun — including an elevator passenger, a deli worker, and staff at a Manhattan hospital — was shot and killed in a confrontation with police Thursday evening.
According to The Associated Press, New York Police Department Chief of Patrol Philip Rivera said officers transported the man to a hospital in a police vehicle after the shootout, where he was pronounced dead. Several officers were also taken to a hospital for evaluation.
The series of incidents began around 7 p.m. inside a residential building on the Upper East Side. Police said the man was riding in an elevator when he struck up a conversation with another passenger, then suddenly pulled out a firearm and aimed it at him.
From there, the man walked to a nearby deli. According to police, he pointed his gun at a worker behind the counter and ordered him to call 911, saying he planned to “shoot it up” at a local hospital.
Shortly afterward, the man entered Mount Sinai Medical Center. Police said he briefly stepped inside before placing a firearm on the ground and walking out.
Moments later, he returned and told a police officer working a paid security detail that he had a gun. When the officer attempted to escort him outside, the two struggled.
During that confrontation, the man regained possession of his firearm, prompting the officer to call for backup.
The gunman then walked down the street, where responding officers encountered him. Rivera said that as soon as officers exited their vehicles, the man opened fire. Police returned fire, striking him.
“Every day, our officers put on their uniforms and they encounter dangerous situations across this city. But it’s another kind of danger when someone goes into a deli and hospital with a gun and opens fire directly at the NYPD,” Rivera said.
Rivera did not release details about the man’s identity.
In a separate incident Thursday night, about 50 miles north in Newburgh, a 45-year-old man was shot and killed after brandishing a knife inside the emergency room lobby of Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital.
Police said the man had pulled a fire alarm and attacked a security guard before a hospital guard fired one round, killing him. A nearby woman suffered a non-life-threatening injury.
