Police shot and killed a man who fired at them during a standoff at a Manhattan apartment after he barricaded himself inside, according to law enforcement sources.
Just before noon Thursday, officers were looking to arrest a suspect wanted on multiple warrants. But before they could do so, the man armed with a gun barricaded himself inside the Lower East Side apartment on Eldridge Street between Stanton and Rivington streets, sources and a city official told NBC New York.
A standoff ensued, only coming to an end when the man shot at a robot sent in by police — and then he fired at officers. A senior law enforcement official said the man, identified as Kent Edwards, got off about four or five shots in all before officers fired back.
The 43-year-old Edwards was struck twice by the gunfire before officers pinned him down using a shield. He was rushed to Bellevue Hospital in critical condition, sources said. He later died from his injuries.
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An ESU officer with the department was hit in the vest from an apparent ricochet, three law enforcement sources said. The officer did not appear to be injured.
Police had previously sent a drone through an open window of the apartment. The suspect swatted it away with a broomstick and knocked it down.
Edwards had been wanted for a shooting outside of an Upper East Side bar and for alleged sexual abuse in Manhattan from April, for which he had failed to register as a sex offender, police said. He had 11 prior arrests dating back to 1995, with the most recent one coming on Feb. 23 for an alleged rape.
