An NYPD officer shot and killed a knife-wielding shoplifter in the Bronx on Saturday afternoon, police and sources said.
The deadly episode — which unfolded shortly after 2:30 p.m. in a 7-Eleven at East Tremont and Barkley avenues in Throgs Neck — may have started as an argument with a store clerk over a cigarette, or a “loosie,” sources said.
The 22-year-old — who sources said had a lengthy police record — entered the store around 2:10 p.m. and was suspiciously walking around with a knife for 20 minutes and taking products off the counters, Deputy Chief Benjamin Gurley told reporters at a press conference.
One of the two employees of the store went outside to meet with a relative, and when he returned, “the male was then observed behind the counter with another employee and that employee looked very nervous,” Gurley said.
The employee who’d gone outside then immediately went to the 45th precinct station house and told security officers what was happening.
Two officers then walked over to the store with the employee, and saw the suspect in the rear of the shop near the coffee machines.
As the officers approached him, one officer gave the suspect several verbal commands to take his hounds out of his sweatshirt pockets, police said.
The deadly episode may have started as an argument between the knife-wielding man and a store employee. Tomas E. Gaston for NY PostWithout saying a word, the man revealed a knife and charged at the officer, Gurley said.
The officer drew his gun while retreating and shot the suspect in the torso a single time near the entrance of the store, police and sources said.
The officers, one of whom is a trained EMT, provided aid to the man. He was pronounced dead at Jacobi Hospital at 3:14 p.m. The two officers were also taken to an area hospital.
Cops recovered the blade at the scene, Gurley said, and showed reporters a photo of the large knife at the press conference.
The man, 22, was in the store “acting suspiciously” with a knife, a 7-Eleven worker told cops at the nearby 45th Precinct. Tomas E. Gaston for NY PostThe suspect, whose name was not released pending family notification of his death, had been arrested seven times before — mostly for theft — and was on probation at the time of the incident, source said.
Many people stopped by the crime scene on Saturday evening, with some remarking how the shooting happened so close to a police precinct.
Noel Rivera, who lives down the block from the 7-Eleven, said he thinks the incident is a result of the police “losing their grip” on the city, emboldening criminals.
“When you take authority from the police, people become more daring. Right now police are not entitled to do anything. Their hands are tied. So this is what you get. I spend a lot of money on taxes, I want them to protect me,” he told The Post.
Cops recovered the blade at the scene, the sources said. Officers gave first aid, police said, but the man did not survive. Tomas E. Gaston for NY PostAnother local resident, Colleen K., said she shops at the store often and hoped that the employees were okay.
“I don’t believe in violence. But you know what if he was going to take another life, no. The cops did the right thing,” she said. “The area’s bad, the people are just brave, it’s sad, very sad.”
The shooting is the latest of police-involved shootings in the city in the two months.
On Labor Day, a man randomly shot at two police officers on patrol in Queens, prompting them to fire back around 3:20 a.m.. Fortunately, nobody was injured and a 35-year-old man was taken into custody.
Police shot and wounded a 17-year-old boy after he allegedly picked up a gun during a foot chase in Brooklyn on Aug. 17.
