Cops opened fire on a man who pointed what turned out to be a fake gun at them in the Bronx early Saturday, officials said.
A 911 caller told cops a man had aimed a firearm at them while walking along East 167th Street near Grant Avenue in Morris Heights at 12:30 a.m., authorities said.
While sweeping the neighborhood, officers spotted the man — armed with what looked like a handgun with a blade attached — several blocks down the street, police said.
“[When] the officers ordered the suspect to show them his hands … he pointed the weapon towards the officers,” NYPD Chief of Patrol Fausto Pichardo said at a news conference.
The cops then opened fire, hitting the man in the torso, officials said.
The weapon that the suspect was holdingNYPDThe 21-year-old suspect was taken to Lincoln Hospital in critical condition, while the officers were taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation, authorities said.
It was not immediately clear how many officers were involved in the shooting or how many rounds were fired.
A photo released by the NYPD shows the suspect’s weapon — an imitation gun with a large blade fused to the barrel.
Police-involved shootings have been on the rise this year, with 23 incidents to date in 2019, 12 of them fatal.
