NEW YORK — An off-duty New York Police Department officer fatally shot a man pointing a fake gun at the officer on Friday night on Staten Island, according to law enforcement.
At about 8 p.m., a 911 call came in about a man with a gun at the back of a diner, Assistant Chief Melissa Eger, of the NYPD Patrol Borough of Staten Island, said during a news conference.
An off-duty officer then spotted the same man with what appeared to be a firearm and told another off-duty officer, said Eger.
They told the man to put the firearm down but instead he pointed it at the officers, said Eger, who added that surveillance video captured the events. One officer then fired at the man.
The officers “performed life-saving measures” and then the man was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, she said.
“Our officers were confronted with a dangerous and unpredictable situation, and they attempted to de-escalate the situation multiple times,” she said.
An imitation firearm was found at the scene, she said.
The shooting is being investigated.
She said the man has a criminal history, but the details were not immediately clear.