16 JANUARY 14, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
‘Hallucinating’ man shot by police after
he lunged at them with knife in Maspeth
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
RPOZARYCKI@QNS.COM
@ROBBPOZ
Police officers shot a “hallucinating”
41-year-old man
who suddenly lunged at them
with a knife while they tried to
talk him down inside a Maspeth
home on Friday, Jan. 8, according
to authorities.
The man was transported to a local
hospital in critical condition after
suffering two gunshot wounds.
The incident happened at about
6:35 p.m. Friday night, after officers
from the 104th Precinct responded
to a call for help at the residence located
near the corner of 64th Street
and 55th Avenue in Maspeth.
It was the second time that the
104th Precinct had responded to the
location Friday, according to Chief
of Department Terence Monahan.
Earlier in the day, he had been hospitalized
for suffering hallucinations,
but had been released hours
later into the custody of a family
member.
Police were called back Friday
night after the man had begun destroying
part of the home, Monahan
said, claiming that an intruder had
been looking for him.
According to Monahan, the responding
officers met with a family
member and the disturbed man in
the basement and engaged him in
conversation for about 10 minutes.
The officers attempted to convince
the man to return to the hospital.
“He abruptly pulled out a large
knife and yelled, ‘I’m not going
back to the hospital,’” Monahan said.
“Armed with the knife, the male then
lunged towards an officer standing
on the staircase.”
Photo via NYPD
That led one of the officers to
deploy a taser, and another cop on
the scene “almost simultaneously”
pulled out his service revolver and
opened fire, the chief noted.
The two officers involved
were evaluated at a hospital and
released.
Monahan said the disturbed man
has a prior history of drug use,
including crystal meth. The 104th
Precinct had responded to a similar
distress call involving the man at
the home on Jan. 6.
During the Friday morning visit
by 104th Precinct officers, the chief
noted, the man told officers that he
had been contemplating suicide.
The NYPD Force Investigation
Unit, which examines police
shootings, is handling the ongoing
investigation.
Grand Street Bridge to close for
maintenance on Saturdays in Jan.
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
AACEVEDO@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
The New York City Department
of Transportation (DOT) will
close Grand Street Bridge over
Newtown Creek on four Saturdays
in January.
The DOT’s Division of Bridges
announced it will be conducting
maintenance and fully closing the
bridge to traffi c during work hours.
The two-lane local bridge connecting
Queens and Brooklyn was closed
Jan. 9 and will be closed on Jan. 16, 23
and 30 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The DOT suggests drivers and
Screenshot via NYPD
pedestrians may use Metropolitan
Avenue as an alternate route.
Last month, DOT also closed the
bridge for three Saturdays during
maintenance.
For all NYC non-emergency services,
including inquiries regarding
NYC DOT construction projects,
New Yorkers can call 311.
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