NYPD fatally shoots knife-wielding man on Manhattan's Lower East Side

Body-worn cameras captured the stairwell shooting, NYPD says

NYPD officers fatally shot a 54-year-old man armed with a butcher knife in a Lower East Side stairwell on Sunday afternoon after he advanced toward them while they responded to reports of an assault in progress, police said.

The shooting occurred around 4:06 p.m. EDT at 126 Ludlow Street. Officers responding to multiple 911 calls about an assault in progress arrived at the building to find a trail of blood leading up a staircase, where they encountered Chan descending while armed with the knife, according to Eager. Officers repeatedly commanded him to show his hands and drop the weapon before discharging their service weapons, Eager told reporters at a press conference.

Chan was transported to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. It was unclear how many rounds were fired, Eager said.

The shooting was captured on the officers’ body-worn cameras, Eager said.

Chan’s father, 75-year-old Cheung Chan, suffered a laceration to the head and was also transported to Bellevue Hospital, where he was being treated and was expected to survive, according to Eager. Police did not immediately release details of an alleged slashing at the building; Eager said Wei Chan was responsible for it.

Eager said Wei Chan had no known prior criminal history but had a “documented mental health history” with the NYPD. She described the officers’ decision to enter the building and ascend the stairwell without knowing what awaited them.

“Officers entered the building, saw a trail of blood and responded without hesitation not knowing what was waiting for them as they went up the stairs,” Eager said. “Their actions are a reminder of how officers run toward danger and not away from it.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he had been briefed on the shooting. “As with every incident in which NYPD officers discharge their weapons, there will be an internal investigation, and body-worn camera footage of the incident will be released,” Mamdani said in a social media statement.