STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A 55-year-old man armed with a gun had multiple chances to surrender before he was fatally shot by police at an outdoor shopping center in Charleston, according to the NYPD.
Assistant Chief Melissa Eger detailed the tense confrontation that ended in a barrage of bullets shortly after 5 a.m. in the parking lot near the Home Depot at 2750 Veterans Road West.
“Once again, our officers ran toward gunfire and bravely confronted danger,” said Eger, the NYPD borough commander, at a news conference held steps away from where the man was mortally wounded.
Eger was was joined at the conference by Amir Yakatally, deputy chief and executive officer of Patrol Borough Staten Island, and Rohan Griffith, deputy chief and commanding officer of the Force Investigation Division.
Police allegedly recovered this gun that a 55-year-old man pointed at officers before they fatally shot him in the parking lot of an outdoor mall at 2750 Veterans Road West in Charleston on the morning of Thursday, March 6, 2025. (Courtesy of NYPD)Courtesy of NYPD
Police showed a photo of a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver recovered at the scene along with what Eger described as “numerous shell casings and live ammunition.”
The 55-year-old man, who previously was known to law enforcement, allegedly did not comply with multiple requests to surrender and instead pointed the gun at officers.
The suspect was shot numerous times in various parts of his body after five officers fired their guns, Eger said.
The shooting is being probed by the NYPD Force Investigation Division, Eger said.
A large portion of the parking lot was roped off with caution tape. Two police vehicles, a marked patrol car and a black sedan that were among the first responders at the scene, were situated at a distance from the suspect’s allege vehicle. Numerous orange-florescent evidence cones were placed around the three cars and throughout the lot.
Based on preliminary information, Eger said that police responded at about 5:20 a.m. on Thursday to a 911 call of a male with a firearm inside of a black Jeep Wrangler at that location.
As officers in marked and unmarked police vehicles arrived on the scene, they “heard multiple shots being fired,” Eger said.
The officers stepped out of their vehicles and encountered the man allegedly armed with a gun.
“The officers tactically positioned themselves around their police vehicles” and immediately began talking with the man.
“Multiple officers repeatedly instructed him to show his hands and drop his firearm, which is all confirmed on body-worn camera footage,” Eger said. “The male did not comply and pointed the firearm at the officers.
“Five uniformed officers discharged their firearms.”
The 55-year-old man was “struck numerous time” throughout his body, Eger said.
Officers rended first aid to the suspect, who was taken by EMS to Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze when he died.
At least two officers were removed to an area hospital for further evaluation.
“This incident is depicted on both body-worn camera footage as well as multiple security cameras from the location parking lot,” Eger said. “Once again, our officers confronted a dangerous and armed individual and attempted to de-escalate the situation multiple times. And that’s exactly what they are trained to do.”
Police are looking into an unconfirmed report that the 55-year-old man might have called 911.
Eger said the man “does have a documented arrest history with the police department here, but it is still early in the investigation.”