[Updates Below] A man was shot by police officers in Midtown this morning. An FDNY spokesperson confirmed the incident happened just after 10 a.m. at West 37th Street and 8th Avenue. The man's condition is not yet known.
5 or 6 shots fired right under my window at 37th and 8th Ave. the man is lying dead in the street shot by what appears to be 2 NYC cops.
— Barry Scheer (@scheer_madness) May 13, 2015
So a shooting just happened on 8th Ave and 37th. Don't come if you don't have to! pic.twitter.com/IulkPI7saB
— Andrea Simone (@drea_barr) May 13, 2015
Witnesses tell us that they heard at least four shots. "I was sitting at my office on 8th avenue and heard four fast bangs that sounded like a handgun," witness Michael Jordan told us. "We went to the window on 8th avenue and couldn't see what was happening as the police were around him...[the] suspect was handcuffed face down in intersection bleeding."
A man shot by an officer in Manhattan might be linked to several hammer attacks, police said http://t.co/r68pReJbM8 pic.twitter.com/tInGNcohBF
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 13, 2015
Several people have claimed that a hammer was found near the suspect, and speculate that he may be the hammer-wielding man who attacked several people in Union Square this week. An NYPD spokesperson could not confirm that yet.
Co-worked just told me gunshots in #Midtown. #NYPD shot and possibly killed the "Hammer Guy."
— James Stewart-Meudt (@JSMeudt) May 13, 2015
UPDATE: #NYPD was responding to a man who was attempting to hit an officer w/a hammer at the time of the Midtown shooting at 8th and 37th
— ABC7NY NewsDesk (@ABC7NYNewsDesk) May 13, 2015
Now hearing that it's the guy who was attacking people with a hammer ... and that the hammer was found at the scene. Crazy stuff.
— Alison M. Jimenez (@AlisonMJimenez) May 13, 2015
Update: ABC, the Daily News and the Post are reporting that the suspect was indeed the hammer attacker, previously identified as 30-year-old David Baril. "NYPD was responding to a man was attempting to hit a police officer with a hammer at the time of the shooting," ABC says.
Police confirmed no officers were injured during the incident, but could not say what the condition of the suspect was.
37th and 8th avenue man handcuffed man shot by cop three times right in front of me! pic.twitter.com/d3QYA3ZuR0
— Sunny Khalsa (@Sunnystease) May 13, 2015
Union Sq Hammer guy shot? @NYScanner: 8 Ave & West 37 St Perp shot by NYPD officer in serious condition. @evgrieve pic.twitter.com/jsADhWfas2
— urban myths, legends (@urbanmyths) May 13, 2015
FDNY now say the suspect was transported to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition; a police spokesman added that his condition may have worsened since then.
Here's a close-up view of the scene, taken from an office on the seventh floor overlooking the area. East Village resident Pat, who took the photo, said he heard the shots and notes: "You can see the hammer in the photo, the blonde cop on the right side of the group of officers is standing over it."
Update 11:45 a.m. Police said at a press conference that two officers approached the man, who was suspected of the hammer assaults from Union Square, just after 10 a.m. this morning. The suspect allegedly began swinging his hammer at one of the officers; as he did so, her partner shot four times, striking the man twice.
NYPD @CommissBratton visiting officers at the hospital who were involved in attack/shooting in Manhattan. pic.twitter.com/wflGiR9bXU
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) May 13, 2015
Cops add that the suspect is currently in "extremely critical condition."
Update 3:51 p.m.: The NYPD released video of the shooting at a press conference today.
