NYPD Shoot, Kill Mentally Ill Man Saheed Vassell After Mistaking A Metal Pipe For A Gun

UPDATE: The unarmed Crown Heights man killed by police has been identified as 34-year-old Saheed Vassell, a Jamaica-born welder and the father of a teenage boy. Vassell struggled with bipolar disorder.

In a report from the Daily News, police were responding to 911 calls about a black man wearing a brown jacket waving what people thought was a silver gun. When officers arrived on the scene the man, who turned out to be Vassell, turned to them and aimed the object at them.

"The suspect then took a two-handed shooting stance and pointed an object at the approaching officers," NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan said during a press conference.

Four officers then proceeded to fire 10 shots at Vassell, striking him multiple times. Upon inspection of the scene after the shooting, officers didn't find a fire arm on Vassell. The 34-year-old had been holding a metal pipe with a knob on the end.

According to some witnesses the officers jumped out of an unmarked police car and fired without warning.

"They just hopped out of the car. It's almost like they did a hit. They didn't say please. They didn't say put your hands up, nothing," Jaccbot Hinds said.

Vassell was taken to Kings County Hospital, where he died.

Read the original story below.

Another police shooting in New York City

An NYPD officer shot and killed an unarmed black man on Wednesday afternoon. According to police sources that talked to the Daily News, the man was holding a metal object that "looked like a showerhead."

READ:High School Student Holding a Pen was Fatally Shot by Police

According to early reports, the officer fired seven shots, striking the man multiple times. The shooting occurred in the Crown Heights section in Brooklyn.

The police responded to a call at around 4:30 pm. The call said that there was an "emotionally disturbed black man believed to be in his mid-30s" on Utica Ave. and Montgomery Ave.

READ:NYPD Releases First-Ever Bodycam Video Of Police Fatally Shooting Mentally Ill Bronx Man

After the shooting occurred a crowd started to gather. Janie Bugatti, who was on the premises, started a Facebook Live documenting what the scene was like. At multiple times you could hear yelling within the crowd.

This story is still developing.

Source: NY Daily News