NYPD says Brooklyn Man, Fatally Shot by Officer, Lunged with a Knife

Officers responding to a call about an emotionally-disturbed man shot and killed him as he lunged at them with a knife, according to NYPD officials. The shooting happened Monday afternoon in Brooklyn.

Police said the man's mother called 911 and said he was acting erratically. Four officers in uniform responded to the apartment in East Flatbush. When they arrived, the mother let them inside. 

That's when the man lunged at the officers with a "large carving knife," according to Chief of Patrol Terence Monahan. One officer fired a stun gun, but the man kept advancing, he said.

Police said a second officer shot the man, striking him in the chest. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. Monahan says the incident unfolded "in seconds."

When the mother called 911, she said he was not acting violently and had no weapons.

Neighbors who gathered at the scene of the shooting expressed skepticism about the shooting.  Drew Blain, 19, said the man who was killed was mentally ill but never acted violently. 

"He talked to himself and listened to his music," Blain said. "He never bothered anybody. He never did anything."

Paster Wilmouth Seaton is part of a group called the God Squad that's been trying to build better relationships between the police and the community. He said incidents like these are a major setback. 

"It doesn't create trust between the police and the community," he said. "You're not going to call the police because you're sure that when the police come somebody is going to get killed." 

Mental health advocates continue to call for more police officers to be trained in how to respond to emotionally disturbed people. "Today is a sad and stark reminder that there is much more to be done," said Steve Coe from Community Access.

Police say an investigation into what happened is ongoing. 

With reports from the Associated Press.