Police fatally shoot knife-wielding man on Brooklyn Bridge

A man carrying a knife moved within three feet of a police officer on the Brooklyn Bridge before another officer shot him, authorities said. The man later died at a hospital.

Police said the man had been walking on the bridge's cables and ignored repeated orders to drop the weapon. Officers from the Emergency Services Unit used a safety harness to reach him and spoke with him for about an hour, telling him they wanted to help him and bring him to safety.

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The officers began to move backwards away from the male, but they were not able to move as quickly as the subject, who was approaching them.

The man told the rescue team that he wanted them to kill him and claimed he had a bomb, according to Gerard Dowling, the unit's commanding officer. When he began climbing quickly down a cable, officers moved backward along the cable below him. Dowling said they could not move fast enough to keep their distance.

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The man was holding a knife and threatened the officers. He eventually moved toward the officers, coming within close proximity to a number of responding officers. One responding officer discharged his weapon and struck the man.

When the man came within three feet of one officer, he raised his arm with the knife extended toward the officer. An officer on the bridge roadway then fired once. Police brought the man down and provided medical aid. They recovered a knife and a flashlight, while Dowling said the bomb claim remained part of the investigation. The man's name was not released.

The shooting closed the landmark bridge and disrupted traffic during part of the morning. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said officers had responded to a 911 call about a man who appeared to be trying to jump from the bridge. He said police attempted to de-escalate the situation before the man moved toward them.

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They receive extensive instruction on de-escalation and how to engage with individuals compassionately.