NYPD Cops Fatally Shoot Teen Waving Scissors In Queens
QUEENS, NY — NYPD cops shot and killed a teen who they said twice attacked them with a pair of scissors inside a Queens apartment, police officials said.
The 19-year-old man was in the throes of a “mental crisis” as cops responded to a 911 call he made Wednesday afternoon, said John Chell, the NYPD’s chief of patrol.
“It quickly escalated into a chaotic situation where officers had to defend themselves,” Chell said.
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Two officers arrived shortly after 1:40 p.m. to the teen’s Ozone Park second-floor apartment along 103rd Street that he shared with his mother, Chell said.
The situation was dangerous from the get-go as the officers tried to get the young man into custody so he could receive treatment, Chell said.
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The teen grabbed a pair of scissors from a drawer and came toward officers, who both fired their Tasers, Chell said.
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“But a mother being a mother, came in aid of her son to help him and, in doing so, she accidentally knocked the Tasers out of his body,” he said.
The man picked up the scissors again and attacked the officers, who Chell said had “no choice but to defend themselves.”
Cops shot the teen and fatally wounded him, officials said.
He died in Jamaica Hospital, Chell said.
“This is a tragic incident for the young man, his family and our cops, who are also human beings,” he said.
The shooting came days after the death of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, who was fatally shot during a traffic stop in Queens.
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