NYPD officers fatally shot a 54-year-old man Sunday afternoon after police said he advanced toward them with a large butcher knife inside a Lower East Side apartment building. The shooting occurred shortly after 4 p.m. at 126 Ludlow Street, where officers were responding to multiple 911 calls reporting an assault in progress.
Upon entering the building, officers discovered a trail of blood leading up a staircase, according to NYPD Assistant Chief Melissa Eger. As officers proceeded upstairs, they encountered Wei Chan, 54, descending the stairs while armed with what authorities described as a large butcher knife.
Officers repeatedly commanded Chan to show his hands and drop the weapon. Police stated that Chan continued to advance toward the officers despite these commands. The officers then discharged their firearms, striking Chan. He was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Chan has no known criminal history with the NYPD, but he does have a documented mental health history with the department, Eger said.
In addition to the fatal shooting, officers found Chan's 75-year-old father, Cheung Chan, suffering from a laceration to the head. Investigators believe Wei Chan injured his father before police arrived. The elder Chan was also taken to the hospital and is expected to survive. The responding officers were transported to a hospital for evaluation.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani stated that he had been briefed on the incident and confirmed that body-worn camera footage would be released as part of the ongoing internal investigation into the shooting. "As with every incident in which NYPD officers discharge their weapons, there will be an internal investigation, and body-worn camera footage of the incident will be released," Mamdani wrote on X. The circumstances surrounding the shooting are currently under investigation.