Man wielding sharp object fatally shot by police in Brooklyn hospital

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NEW YORK (AP) — New York City police fatally shot a man wielding a sharp object who barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room Thursday.

The incident happened around 5:30 p.m. at the NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, Assistant Chief Charles Minch said.

Responding officers encountered a man armed with a sharp object in a blood-spattered room on the eighth floor of the hospital, which is located in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood.

Minch said the man had barricaded himself in the room with two others — an older adult patient and a hospital security worker — and threatened to harm himself and others.

For more than three minutes, officers repeatedly ordered the man to drop the sharp object and open the door, but he refused, Minch said.

Officers deployed Tasers to try to subdue the man but were unsuccessful, he added. They then tried to kick the door open, but the man held it shut.

After a second Taser attempt also failed, Minch said, the man charged at the officers with the object, prompting them to open fire.

Minch did not identify the man other than to say he was admitted as a patient the previous day. The officers’ body cameras recorded the incident, he added.

“This situation could have turned out every differently” Minch said.

The department also posted a photo of a bloodied “self-made” weapon on social media.

Police said the security staffer was evaluated medically, but it was not clear what injuries the person may have sustained.