The New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation (OSI) has opened an investigation into the death of a civilian, who died on Nov. 3, as reported, following an encounter with members of the NYPD.

 

As reported, late in the morning on Nov. 3, police said two men were involved in a physical fight in a shop near the intersection of East Gun Hill Road and Hull Avenue in the Norwood section of The Bronx. According to the NYPD, during the fight, one of the men stabbed the other and fled the shop. The other pursued him on the street and shot at him.

 

The gun below was recovered at the scene. pic.twitter.com/RczFnB8JZP

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) November 3, 2022

NYPD representatives said officers from a Queens unit, who were in the area for an unrelated reason and were based nearby, saw the civilian firing his gun and then fired their guns at him. The civilian was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. The NYPD later recovered a gun at the scene, as reported.

 

Officials from the New York Attorney General’s office said that pursuant to New York State executive law section 70-b, the Office of Special Investigations assesses every incident reported to it where a police officer or a peace officer, including a corrections officer, may have caused the death of a person, by an act or omission.

 

Under the law, the officer may be on-duty or off-duty, and the deceased may be armed or unarmed. Also, the deceased may or may not be in custody or incarcerated. If OSI’s assessment indicates an officer caused the death, the office will proceed to conduct a full investigation of the incident.

 

OSI officials said these are preliminary facts and subject to change.

 

As reported, on the day of the incident, police told reporters during a press conference that the shooting occurred at 11.20 a.m., as members of the Queens Warrant Squad were in an unmarked police vehicle in front of 330 Gun Hill Road, a bodega, grocery store.

 

Police said, “They were investigating an unrelated incident. At 11.30 a.m. a 29-year-old male double-parked a white Lexus at the southeast corner of Hull Avenue and East Gun Hill Road. He entered the bodega where he engaged in a violent struggle with a 21-year-old male who was already in the deli.”

 

They continued, “This struggle is caught on surveillance video tape. It appears the 21-year-old who was in the deli prior had a gun and the 29-year-old who entered is stabbing him with a knife.”

Watch as NYPD executives provide an update to the shooting in Bronx. https://t.co/sYZwwRZRLJ

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) November 3, 2022

They continued, “The male with the knife flees, pursued by the male with the gun. As he exists the bodega, he fires at the male at point-blank range into the white Lexus. One sergeant and two detectives from the Queens Violence Detectives Squad, in plain clothes, confront the male with the gun, and fire numerous times.”

 

Police said the male who was shot by police was removed to Jacobi Medical Center and was pronounced deceased.

 

“The 29-year-old male fled the scene and was discovered a short time later with a graze wound to his head [in a barber shop],” police added. “He was removed to St. Barnabas Hospital, and is in stable condition.”

 

A photo of the gun and the knife recovered at the scene was shared by police during a press conference. The photo of the gun is attached. Police said a preliminary investigation found that neither civilian had any connection to the bodega. Shattered car window glass was seen beside the white Lexus in a video shot by a Citizens’ App user.

 

Police said the motive for the shooting was still unclear and under investigation.

This is the knife that was recovered inside the vehicle. pic.twitter.com/nWo8WgQQdP

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) November 3, 2022

Police added that there had been some shootings in the neighborhood in the past few weeks. “We have to look at the background of the individuals involved and what they were doing and what sparked this argument. The incident is just three hours old,” police said.

 

Norwood News previously reported on a reported shooting in the vicinity of the same location of Hull Avenue and East Gun Hill Road on Tuesday, July 26, 2022.

 

We also reported on another shooting was at East 204th Street in Norwood on Sept. 22, that left one man critical.

 

In response to media questions, police said an initial review of the guns involved belonging to the detectives showed that one of the officers involved shot two rounds and another shot ten rounds. They added that this information was subject to change and that a statement would be forthcoming from the detectives squad. It was confirmed that the detectives involved were not wearing body-worn cameras.

Video of the aftermath of a fatal shooting which took place on the corner of Hull Avenue and East Gun Hill Road in Norwood on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. Video courtesy of the Citizens’ App.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips.

 

All calls are strictly confidential.

 

*David Greene contributed to this story.