Man shot by police in Queens

The NYPD said a 22-year-old man was carrying a kitchen knife and moving toward officers inside a Briarwood home when cops began to shoot him on Monday. The man is expected to survive.  Photo via NYPD

By Ryan Schwach & Jacob Kaye

A man who cops claimed was emotionally disturbed was shot by NYPD officers in Briarwood on Monday.

According to police, the 22-year-old victim had a knife and was shot multiple times by officers. He is expected to recover.

Police responded to a private home at 84-65 Parsons Blvd. at 10:25 a.m. on Monday after the man’s parents called to report that their son, who allegedly has a history of mental illness, was throwing glass against a wall.

Officers from the 107th Precinct arrived at the house and were let in by the parents, according to the NYPD. The man, whose name has not been released, was standing in the kitchen with a large knife, according to the cops. He then allegedly began to move toward the officers but was held back by one of his family members temporarily before breaking through.

The cops then closed a glass door separating the kitchen from the living room while telling the man to drop the knife, top police officials claimed. But the man allegedly pushed through the doors. That’s when at least one cop fired their gun, hitting the man multiple times.

Assistant Chief Christopher McIntosh, the command officer of Patrol Borough Queens South, said during a press briefing on the shooting on Monday that investigators had not yet determined how many times the man had been shot or where he had been struck.

The entire incident was captured on body-worn camera footage, McIntosh said.

The man was taken to Jamaica Hospital in stable condition. Officers were also taken to local hospitals for minor injuries.

The investigation is ongoing.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was briefed on Monday afternoon about the incident.

“The NYPD is assessing the situation, and we are committed to keeping New Yorkers informed as we learn more,” said the mayor on social media. “I’m grateful to the first responders who put themselves on the line each day to keep our communities safe.”

Monday’s police shooting is the second in Queens in recent weeks.

On Dec. 21, police shot and killed Chez Fray in Far Rockaway. Fray, whose family said he was not emotionally disturbed, had a box cutter when he was shot by police.

Body-worn camera footage of the incident released by the state attorney general’s office earlier this month showed Fray running toward the officers with the box cutter before one of the cops shot him multiple times.

Fray’s parents, who called the police to the scene, said that responding officers did little to calm down their son, who allegedly was suffering from drug-induced agitation.

The Frays were joined by several elected officials in Queens earlier this month when they called for the officers to be fired.

“This body camera footage exposes the incompetence, inhumanity, and extreme lack of the most basic de-escalation tactics observed by the two officers of the 101st Precinct,” Assemblymember Khaleel Anderson said at the time. “I am calling on the mayor and the New York City Police Commissioner to relieve this officer of her duties immediately. I am also calling for the mayor to use this opportunity for a change in the way police respond to mental health crises, family disputes, and calls from those in distress.”

The Fray shooting shared similarities with the March 2024 police shooting of 19-year-old Win Rozario.

Rozario, who was shot in his home, called the police himself, seeking help amid a purported mental health crisis.

Police arrived to find Rozario in the family’s kitchen with a pair of scissors in his hands. Though his mother attempted to restrain him, Rozario began moving toward the officers.

They shot him multiple times, killing him.

The two officers in the Rozario shooting are now facing internal NYPD charges, but the attorney general's office declined to bring criminal charges against them.