Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the New York City area for more than a decade. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here.
NYPD officers fatally shot man, 19, wielding scissors in Queens: sources
QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) --- NYPD officers shot a man wielding scissors inside a Queens home on Wednesday, according to police and law enforcement sources.
The incident happened on the second floor of a family home at 101-12 103rd St. near 101st Avenue in Ozone Park at around 1:40 p.m., police said. The 19-year-old man was suffering a mental crisis and called 911, according to NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell.
"The situation becomes quite hectic, chaotic, and dangerous right away," Chell said at a press briefing Wednesday afternoon.
The officers were trying to take the man into custody before he pulled the scissors out of a drawer and came towards the two cops, who initially deployed their tasers, Chell said. But the man's mother accidentally knocked the Tasers out of his body.
The son then picked up the scissors again and headed for the officers before they opened fire, police said. The man died at the hospital. The cops were not injured.
"They had no choice but to defend themselves," Chell said.
This is a developing story. Refresh the page for updates.