Police Incident in Briarwood

In a troubling incident in Queens on Monday morning, New York City police fatally shot a man, described as having a “history of mental illness,” after he allegedly attacked them with a kitchen knife.

Authorities received a call around 10:25 a.m. from a relative of the 22-year-old man, who was reportedly “throwing glass at a wall” at a residence on Parsons Boulevard near 85th Street. Deputy Chief Christopher McIntosh, who oversees the Queens South District Patrol, provided details about the incident.

When officers arrived, they found the man in the kitchen. According to McIntosh, he “pulled out a large kitchen knife and began advancing toward the officers.”

Family members attempted to intervene and “detain” the man, but he persisted, moving closer to the officers with the knife in hand. “Officers repeatedly warned the man to drop the knife and de-escalate the situation,” McIntosh noted. It appears the man ignored those commands, moving from the kitchen into the living room.

In an effort to de-escalate, police closed the glass door to the living room and tried further to instruct him to put down his weapon. However, he reportedly burst through the door and lunged at the officers.

At that point, officers discharged their weapons. Following the gunfire, they quickly applied a tourniquet to the man before handing him over to paramedics.

He was transported to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was in stable condition and underwent surgery. Interestingly, while he hadn’t been arrested previously, police had responded to a similar “emotionally disturbed person” call involving him just last month.

The number of shots fired by the officers and how many participated in the shooting is still unclear. However, police confirmed they recovered the knife at the scene.

In the aftermath, officers were taken to a local hospital for evaluation. The entire incident was recorded on body-worn cameras and is now under review by the department’s investigative division.

A neighbor described hearing the officers command the man to “put down the knife” multiple times, followed by several gunshots. “It all happened in maybe 10 or 20 seconds,” he remarked.

Another neighbor, who chose to remain anonymous, recalled seeing the injured man on a stretcher, appearing disoriented. Residents expressed concern for the suspect’s well-being, suggesting he might have been dealing with some form of emotional or developmental issue. “He’s a nice kid who always walks his dog,” one neighbor said.