Cops Shoot, Kill Man Who Threatened Mom With Screwdriver in Queens: NYPD

What to Know

  • Cops shot and killed a 28-year-old man who threatened his mother with a screwdriver inside her home early Saturday morning, police say
  • The suspect had recently reconciled with his mother, but the two had prior domestic incidents in the past, a source tells News 4
  • He allegedly had a criminal record and was on probation at the time of the incident

A 28-year-old man who threatened his mother with a screwdriver has died following a police-involved shooting in Queens, police said.

Police were called to the house near 137-64 Westgate Street around 3 a.m. Saturday, NYPD Chief of Patrol Terence Monahan said.

Responding officers heard screaming coming from the back of the house. A 911 caller had told authorities she was yelling, "He's going to kill me!"

They found Jahlire Nicholson holding a woman, his mother, and threatening her with a screwdriver in a small stairwell leading to the basement apartment, police said. 

Officers ordered Nicholson to drop his weapon, but he refused. A struggle ensued, and officers were able to free his mother as they attempted to disarm him.

Cops then used a taser, but missed Nicholson, who continued to wield the screwdriver.  

"It's a dangerous weapon," Monahan said. "A screwdriver, you can be stabbed with, the same as you can be stabbed with a knife."

As the struggle ensued, two officers fired, hitting Nicholson in the shoulder and in the leg.

He was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His mother was unharmed.

The officers were taken to the hospital for evaluation following the shooting.

The suspect and his mother have had prior domestic disputes in the past despite a recent reconciliation, a source told News 4. He officially resided in Suffolk County, but he was transient and stayed in various locations in addition to Long Island. 

Nicholson had a criminal record and was on probation, the source said. He had just accepted a plea deal for a drug possession charge.

There have been other police shootings in New York City during the first two weeks of the new year.

Police said they shot and killed a man who fired a gun into a lounge and turned it on officers in Brooklyn on Jan. 4, hours after shooting to death another man officers said came at them with a large knife and shrugged off a stun gun blast in a Brooklyn home the night before.

On Jan. 6, police said officers shot and wounded a man who drew a gun on them in Staten Island

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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