An NYPD officer shot and gravely wounded a man as he held a large kitchen knife to his mom’s throat and threatened to kill her in the Bronx Thursday night, officials and sources said.
Daniel Ribustello allegedly gripped his terrified mother, Carol, in a headlock inside an apartment in Pelham Bay — and faced off with officers who had responded to an urgent 911 call from building security at about 11:20 p.m., sources said.
Police responded to a report of a man armed with a knife inside an apartment on Mulford Avenue in the Pelham Bay section of the borough at around 11:20 p.m.. Christopher Sadowski“You’re going to kill me or I’m going to kill her,” the man allegedly declared, according to sources.
A family member had let the officers inside the Mulford Avenue home, where they encountered the pulse-pounding scene.
“Immediately upon entering the apartment, the officers observed a 34-year-old male holding his distraught 61-year-old mother at knifepoint in the rear of the apartment,” NYPD Chief of Patrol Philip Rivera told reporters. “The male had his left arm around his mother’s neck and a large kitchen knife in his right hand.”
The tense standoff lasted 2 and a half minutes, with officers attempting to get the man to put the knife down and free his mother, Rivera said.
“Numerous times during this interaction, the male moved the knife towards his mother’s neck,” the chief said.
The knife the suspect allegedly used to charge at the officers. Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto/ShutterstockThen police had no choice but to open fire, according to Rivera.
“One officer discharged one round, striking the male and freeing the woman,” the chief said.
Officers treated the wounded suspect at the scene, and he was rushed to Jacobi Medical Center, where he is listed in critical condition.
Police shot the male, while his mother was uninjured in the incident. Christopher SadowskiHis mother was not physically injured, Rivera said.
Carol was hostile and swearing when approached for comment several hours after the violence.
“I’m not telling you nothing,” Carol said. “My son is in a coma. Is that what you wanna know?”
“Cops shot him in the face, he’s in a coma,” she said, before adding a gruff, “thank you.”
Daniel’s father, Dominick, also confirmed on scene that his son was in a medically induced coma but wouldn’t comment further.
The long blade was recovered from the scene, he added.
The officers who were involved in the incident were hospitalized for an evaluation.
The entire ordeal was captured on cops’ body-worn camera footage, and the department’s Force Investigation Division will probe the incident, Rivera said.
Daniel is on active probation for third-degree burglary in the Bronx, with his supervision set to expire in 2027, sources said.
He was arrested for assault as a juvenile, back in 2005, and has a domestic incident report for harassment from 2003, according to the sources.
Police also responded to one previous incident where Daniel was described as an “emotionally disturbed person,” the sources said.
Additional reporting by Brigitte Stelzer
