New York (AFP) – A gunman was dead Monday following a shooting in central Manhattan, New York police said, amid reports a police officer was killed and several civilians struck, provoking a lockdown in the area. Mayor Eric Adams said on X the officer had been “struck down” and expressed his “deepest sympathies” to the family of the officer, although a department spokeswoman said she could neither confirm nor deny an officer had been killed.
Police wrote on X that the scene, around Park Avenue and East 51st Street, had been “contained and the lone shooter is dead,” without providing details about the identity of the suspect. “At this time, the scene has been contained and the lone shooter has been neutralized,” police commissioner Jessica Tisch wrote on X amid reports of several people being shot. She gave no other details about the incident.
Fox News, citing the New York Police Department, reported that at least six people, including a police officer, were shot, with the officer in critical condition in an area hospital. Police officers deployed a drone near Park Avenue at the height of the evening rush hour as dozens of officers swarmed the area, some carrying long guns and others wearing ballistic vests.
A number of ambulances had gathered in the vicinity and several helicopters hovered above the scene. Police repeatedly pushed back journalists and members of the public who gathered to see what was happening in the normally calm but busy area of Midtown Manhattan. The area is home to several five-star business hotels, as well as a number of corporate headquarters, including Colgate Palmolive and KPMG, the auditor.
Earlier, the mayor had told New Yorkers that “there is an active shooter investigation taking place in Midtown right now. Please take proper safety precautions if you are in vicinity and do not go outside if you are near Park Avenue and East 51st Street.”
© 2024 AFP
