Police open fire on fare dodger in metro: four injured

Police shot and wounded a man without a ticket on a subway platform in Brooklyn. Two bystanders and a police officer were also injured, reports NBC.

The New York Police Department said the suspected stowaway attacked officers with a knife and verbally threatened their lives.

One of the two passengers hit by police bullets, a 49-year-old man, was hospitalized in critical condition after being shot in the head.

How events developed

The two officers who opened fire were patrolling the station.Metro Sutter Avenue at the 73rd station. They observed a man run through the station's turnstile and walk through an open gate onto the train platform.

On the subject: Man Stabs Teenager With Knife On New York Subway

Police followed a suspicious man up the stairs to the overground platform train L around 15:00 pm They asked him to stop and turn around.

Chief Jeffrey Maddrey told a news conference that during the verbal altercation, officers "became aware of the knife."

Body camera footage captured the man verbally threatening officers.

"I'll kill you if you don't stop chasing me," he shouted.

As the situation escalated, a northbound L train pulled into the station. The train doors swung open and the man jumped in, police said.

Maddrey said officers immediately followed the suspect. They fired their Tasers, but it was ineffective in subduing him. The suspect then exited the train while it was still at the station and lunged at the officers with a knife.

The police officers pulled out a firearm and shot the 37-year-old man several times.

They hit him several times and he is reported to be in critical condition.

In addition to the 49-year-old passenger, a 26-year-old woman was also hit by a bullet. One of the officers who fired was also wounded under the left armpit. Officials said his life was not in danger.

Mayor Eric Adams, who attended the briefing, described the knife-wielding man as a "career criminal" with more than 20 arrests to his credit.

Acting Police Commissioner Thomas Donlan was also at the press conference. He blamed the shooting on a suspect who jumped a turnstile.

"We'll go through the timeline of today's events, but make no mistake. The events that took place on the Sutter Avenue platform were the result of an armed criminal who encountered our officers. They were doing the job we asked them to do," Donlan concluded.