A man who was believed to be suffering from a mental health crisis caused a standoff with police early this morning in Throggs Neck as he sat on top of his car outside of the 45th Precinct holding a gun.
According to the 45th Cmdr. Isaac Soberal, at approximately 7:20 a.m., officers became aware of a man who parked his silver SUV in the middle of the intersection of Lafayette and Barkley avenues — a block from the police precinct — and climbed to the roof of his car armed with a gun and alcohol.
The cops immediately told the man to drop the gun, but he did not comply. Upon observing his behavior, the police believed he seemed somewhat “disoriented.”
Authorities notified the Emergency Response Unit, who when arriving at the scene used ballistic shields as they approached the back of the vehicle and tried to engage him in dialogue.
“The man was unresponsive and did not offer any explanation for what he was doing and why he was there,” said NYPD Special Operations Capt. Christopher Giordano.
Watch as Chief Wedin, from @NYPDSpecialops, speaks about the response of @nypd45pct and Emergency Service Unit officers earlier today to a man with a gun suffering a personal crisis in the Bronx, who was safely taken into custody without incident. pic.twitter.com/tlzKBbd87O
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) July 8, 2021
Suddenly, the man discharged a round from his gun into an unoccupied police van.
“The man appeared startled by the gun going off and laid back on the roof of the SUV,” Giordano said.
He then dropped the gun into the car and immediately officers approached and arrested him. The man was taken to Jacobi Hospital for a psych evaluation and his car was searched and deemed safe.
The investigation is ongoing and charges are pending.
Reach Jason Cohen at jcohen@schnepsmedia.com or (718) 260-4598. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter @bxtimes and Facebook @bxtimes.
