Police Fatally Shoot Gun-Wielding Man In Times Square

Photograph by Valerio Bruscianelli

There were reports of a shooting at Broadway and 46th Street—the heart of Times Square—and now it seems that the police shot a man who apparently fired first. The incident may have occurred near the Marriott (possibly in the parking garage).

Reader Valerio, who sent us this picture, tell us, "Spoke with someone who mentioned they saw two men started fighting, cops approached to investigate, one man pulled a weapon and was shot by the cop. Called the Marriott - Reception said an incident occurred and has been taken care of."

According to CityRoom, the shooting occurred outside the Marriott's parking garage—"A plainclothes police sergeant fatally shot a man on Thursday morning outside the parking garage of the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square during a crackdown on street vendors selling counterfeit CD’s... The authorities said the police officers were looking into reports of peddlers who had intimidated tourists with a ruse: They would approach the tourists, ask them their names, write their names on the CD’s and then demand payment of $10."

And now we're hearing the man died at the hospital.

Update 2:30 p.m.: The man shot and killed by police was a peddler. After a plainclothes sergeant on the "anti-peddler task force" tried to confront the man; NBC New York reports, "A chase then ensued and the suspect, described as a Hispanic man from the Bronx, pulled a MAC-10 sub-machine gun and fired at least twice at the officer, police officials said. One of the rounds fired by the suspect fired shattered the glass window of a nearby store."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on December 10, 2009 2:33 PM

Comments [rss]

renee alberts

Unfortunately, hotels Times Square will always be targets for terrorism because of the ever growing number of tourists. Due to the plain-clothes officer being in the right place at the right time, a tragedy was averted.

economycar

Everyone is making a big deal that it was a "mac 10". It really isn't functionally different from any handgun that can accept large clips. It is only a submachine gun or machine pistol if he converted it to full auto which is really easy but not terribly helpful for most situations. It is basically a bulky, kind of crappy stamped metal handgun. It just scares people who don't know about guns when they show up in the paper. The net effect would have been the same if he had a small .380 pistol. Two shots fired, he got killed, that's it.

inoyourider

No big deal except he could potentially hurt more people more quickly than with a normal pistol.

Angelheaded Hipster

and bloomberg extinguishes another small business !! with the collusion of christine quinn and the queens irish democratic machine!! pass the pet sprinkler bill NOW

Billiamsburg

why didnt they kneecap him?!?

nik13

Police acted stupidly again.

just saying

Let this be a warning for potential counterfeiters. NYC has now officially upped the ante for counterfeiting goods.

inoyourider

Another piece of garbage got thrown in the trash.

Good riddance.

Amanda Harletsch

NY FUN!

JW

I'm surprised the "real" felix hasn't found a way to link Bloomberg or Quinn to this!

Guest

lesson #1: if you happen to carry a gun or a submachine gun, jremember that you don't have to pull it out. ever.

lesson #2: if a cop tries to ID you and you're afraid that he might find the gun you're carrying, just remember that it's better to do a few years and maybe meet a couple of dudes who'll call you "Betsy", than to end up like the peddler above. it's almost christmas and he's not going to see his mother, ever.

lesson #3: it's best not to carry any guns. especially in nyc.

JacqueMehoff

who buys cd's?

Guest

oh, those blokes on the street? i saw one following two little tourists for a whole block a couple of weeks ago. all smiles (if you can call that a smile) and loud and heavy persuasive language--"c'mon, man! check it out, check it out! a brand new cd"--repeatedly, while his large figured loomed over both of them like two tiny confused and frightened mice. oh, and he stopped smiling after half a block; and that had an effect on the two lost little dudes.

FrankMartin

I am for sure going to say "pardon me" next time I bump into someone in Times Sq.

Wza

Whoa!

Just had an 80's flashback.

hotstepper

there are way too many pussies on this thread. cat.

Guest

rather be a pussy than to carry a submachine gun and pose as a peddler. then y'know, pull out the gun when feel threatened by a cop and start shooting madly, only to get shot back and end it really early.

hotstepper

speaking avatars, friend.

Guest

ahh... sorry. i used to be picked on a lot as a kid.

"pussy" makes my "gun" go mad.

trady

these comments are hilarious!

but seriously, that's pretty messed up. i don't mess w/ anyone here. if peddlers have guns, the next thing we're gonna hear is that 90-old granny has an AK47 up her moo-moo! nyc don't play!