Police on Tuesday shot and killed a man in Chelsea during a mid-afternoon confrontation at a local business, NYPD officials said.
Around 2:45 p.m., law enforcement members from the department’s Violent Gang Task Force and the federal Homeland Security Investigations agency were looking for a 25-year-old man suspected of a felony assault earlier this month in Manhattan, the officials said at a news conference later on Tuesday. They said the man ran into an eyeglass store and a “struggle ensued” with police.
The man reached for a gun, and police shot him three times, according to the officials. He was taken in critical condition to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The NYPD said the shooting happened on West 24th Street near Seventh Avenue. The responding officers, who were in plainclothes, did not have body cameras on them, according to the officials.
Randy Moreno, 39, said he was visiting a friend in the area when he heard yelling inside Maximeyes Optical on West 24th Street. The Uber Eats delivery worker said he watched as two plainclothes officers, including one with blood on his forehead, left the business.
A man was wheeled out on a stretcher as emergency responders performed chest compressions and covered him with a white tarp, Moreno added.
This story has been updated with additional information.
