Police responding to a 911 call at a NYCHA building in Queens on Monday fatally shot a man holding an "imitation" gun, top brass said.
Two uniformed cops were dispatched to the Ocean Bay Apartments around 10:30 a.m. for reports of shots fired, NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said during a press conference hours later. The officers reached a fourth floor apartment and made contact with a man who let them inside, Maddrey explained.
The officers then knocked on a back bedroom where they attempted to make contact with a man inside, according to Maddrey. After a brief conversation through the closed door, the man eventually opened it to the officers.
“Our members go to step in through the door and then the male points a firearm at them. Our officers gave commands to drop the weapon and then our officer discharges his firearm," Maddrey said.
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The gun recovered from the man was an "imitation" weapon, the chief said, and an initial investigation suggests reports of shots being fired during a family fight turned out to be false.
Police said the man did not have a prior history of problems with police. He died at the hospital after police performed tried to render aid, Maddrey added.
