A man with a machete slashed and injured three people at New York City’s Grand Central Station on Saturday before he was fatally shot by police, officials said.
The NYPD said officers encountered the armed man on the 4, 5, 6 subway platform at Grand Central-42nd Street at around 9:40 a.m. after a civilian alerted them and they found an injured victim.
When officers encountered the 44-year-old man, he was armed with a large knife and “behaving erratically, repeatedly stating that he was ‘Lucifer,'” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
The man refused numerous orders to drop the weapon and advanced toward the officers before he was shot, Tisch said.
“The individual refused to comply with at least 20 orders to drop the knife. Officers also attempted to deescalate and offer assistance, saying, ‘We are going to get you help,'” Tisch said.
The NYPD issued an alert to avoid the area around Grand Central and later said the man was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital.
The slashing victims were identified as an 84-year-old man, 65-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman. They were hospitalized in stable condition.
The MTA said 4, 5, 6 and 7 trains are bypassing Grand Central because of the police investigation. The MTA said it expects trains to be delayed.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement, “I’m grateful to the NYPD for their quick response and for preventing additional violence. The NYPD is conducting an internal investigation and will release body-worn camera footage, as it does in all incidents involving the discharge of an officer’s firearm.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she was also briefed on the incident and “grateful to our brave officers who acted quickly to stop the suspect.”
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