Police shot and killed a man early Sunday morning after they say he reached for his gun when officers approached him.
According to police, the 32-year-old Maryland man, who has not been officially identified, was shot fatally after police officers chased him on foot through South Ozone Park at around 1:30 a.m. Sunday. Two undercover NYPD officers on patrol in an unmarked vehicle noticed a man standing next to a double-parked SUV on 135th Street in Queens. According to police, he had an open bottle of alcohol.
The two officers approached the man and noticed a gun in his waistband. The man took off on foot and police began to chase him.
RELATED:Man, 29, in critical condition after fall from 10-story window The officers shouted commands as they chased him. As the man reached 135th Street and 116th Avenue, another unmarked police vehicle with three more officers arrived to the scene, according to police. When the five officers confronted the man, he reached for the gun in his waistband, according to police.
Four of the officers fired their weapons, striking him several times in the torso.
EMS responded to the location and transported the man to Jamaica Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
A .40-caliber Hi-Point firearm was recovered at the scene of the shooting that police say belonged to the man who was shot. The police department tweeted a photo of the gun after the shooting.
A photo of the weapon recovered at the scene of the officer involved shooting in Queens. pic.twitter.com/p7TTljD1Hj
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) April 17, 2016
According to NBC4, the family of George Tillman, 32, said he was the man who was shot Sunday morning. The family said he was visiting from Maryland and has a wife and five children. The investigation remains ongoing.
