An unarmed man in Brooklyn was shot and killed by a probationary NYPD officer when his weapon accidentally discharged on Thursday, according to CBS New York. The shooting occurred around 11:15 p.m. in a stairwell of the Pink Houses, a public housing development in East New York.
Two officers were reportedly conducting a “vertical patrol,” going floor to floor to check for crime. When a man emerged into the “dimly-lit” stairwell from the seventh floor, an unidentified officer discharged one bullet, striking the 28-year-old victim in the chest. He later died at Brookdale Hospital.
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton called the shooting “an unfortunate tragedy” and said “all indications are this was an accidental discharge.”
At a press conference Friday morning, Mayor de Blasio said, “We don’t know enough yet, but it does appear to be an accident.”
This post has been updated throughout.
