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Officers clipped to bridge had tried to talk man, who was holding a knife, into coming down safely, officials say
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US news — Anna Betts
New York City police shot and killed a man on Friday morning after he climbed on to the cables of the Brooklyn Bridge and approached officers with a knife extended, New York police department officials said.
At a news conference on Friday, NYPD officials said that a 911 call came in at around 3.28am on Friday morning, reporting that a man was walking on the beams of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Officers with the NYPD’s emergency service unit (ESU) responded to the scene, and saw a man “walking on the bridge cables”, Gerald Dowling, the commanding officer of ESU, told reporters.
“Members of ESU climbed on to those cables and attempted to establish a verbal dialogue with the male and safely remove him from the bridge,” Dowling said.
Dowling noted that the officers spent almost an hour speaking with the man, explaining that they were there to help, and tried to convince him to get down from the bridge safely. During the interaction, the officers observed that the man was holding a knife, he said.
The man told the officers: “I want to die, I want you to kill me. I have a bomb. You are not going to make me do something bad to the cops.”
Throughout the interaction, Dowling said, the officers continued trying to convince him to get down safely, while also issuing “multiple verbal commands for him to drop the knife”.
After about an hour, hundreds of feet above the East River, the man “began to quickly descend the cable of the bridge towards the officers”, Dowling said, adding that at the time, the officers were still clipped to the bridge and positioned below the man on the same cable.
Dowling said that when ESU officers are “conducting high-angle rescue”, they wear safety gear, including a harness, which is “physically clipped into the bridge” for their safety and noted that “being secured to the bridge drastically impacts the speed of their movement”.
“The officers began to move backwards away from the male, but they were not able to move as quickly as the subject who was approaching them,” Dowling said. “When the male got within approximately 3ft from the closest member of ESU, he raised his arm with the knife extended outward towards the officer.”
At that point, Dowling said, an ESU officer “who was on the roadbed of the bridge discharged his weapon one time, striking the male”.
Dowling said that the officers then brought the male down from the cable and began rendering aid. The man was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
A knife and a flashlight were recovered from the scene. Officials said that the entire incident was captured on police-worn body cameras. On social media, the police shared a photo of what they said was the knife recovered from the scene.
The police have not yet released details regarding the identity of the man.
“This incident is being investigated by the force investigation division,” Dowling said. “Members of ESU are specially trained for these types of high-risk and incredibly dangerous situations. They receive extensive instruction on de-escalation and how to engage with individuals compassionately.”
The New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, issued a statement on Friday morning that NYPD emergency service unit officers “worked to de-escalate the situation for approximately an hour and urged the man not to jump”.
Mamdani echoed Dowling, noting the man was holding a knife and threatening the officers, “coming within close proximity to a number” of them.
“One responding officer discharged his weapon and struck the man,” Mamdani said, adding that the man was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
“As is standard when an NYPD officer discharges a firearm, the department will conduct an internal investigation, and body-worn camera footage will be released,” he said.
The shooting came several days after police shot and killed a woman in Times Square after she attacked two people with knives, killing a 32-year-old woman .
At a news conference on Friday, NYPD officials said that a 911 call came in at around 3.28am on Friday morning, reporting that a man was walking on the beams of the Brooklyn Bridge.
This report is published with credit to theguardian.com. Full available text from the wire is above. Read on theguardian.com →
Source: theguardian.com · Anna Betts. Published 4 Sept 2026, 03:25 pm.
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