1 dead, 1 injured after midtown Manhattan police shooting

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MGN

NEW YORK (AP) – Police shot and killed a knife-wielding man, and a woman suffered a graze wound during the morning rush hour Wednesday in a busy, tourist-filled area of midtown Manhattan, officials said.

The encounter happened around 8:30 a.m. just a few hundred feet from the Broadway theaters showing “Wicked” and “The Book of Mormon.” The body was covered in a white sheet on the street.

Police said the suspect had a knife and apparently lunged at an officer before the officer fired, but they were still investigating. The officer also suffered minor injuries. A bystander was grazed in the arm and was taken to a hospital and expected to survive, according to a preliminary report. It’s not clear how many shots the officer fired, but witnesses reported hearing five or six pops.

Sharona Shriver, who lives in an apartment building near the crime scene, said she was doing her makeup when she heard the shots and ran to the window. She saw the dead man surrounded by police.

“He was face down with blood pouring out of his head. Looked like it was coming out of his head or upper body,” she said. “A trail of blood.”

Her roommate, Tamar Mendelsohn, said she heard about six shots, and when she looked out the window she saw the officer crying. She didn’t see a knife.

A Hilton Garden Inn stands at the corner of Eighth and 49th streets where the shooting occurred. The area was blocked off. Some guests whose windows overlook the shooting scene were taking cellphone photos of the body under the cloth.

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