One man dead after shooting, injuring officer in Bed-Stuy
Videos posted on Citizen shows police responding to 190 Kosciuszko St.
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A man is dead after injuring a police officer during a shooting in Bed-Stuy.
Videos posted on Citizen show police responding to 190 Kosciuszko St.
Sources say police responded to a call of shots fired inside an apartment building just before 6 a.m. When police arrived, they tried to contact the person inside but did not get a response. When they entered the apartment, they saw 48-year-old Lamin Simmons holding a gun and withdrew to call for specialized units.
What followed was two hours of hostage negotiations by police and Simmons’ family.
Around 8:30 a.m. Simmons started throwing large objects such as pots, lamps and a microwave out the window towards the police.
Just before 9 a.m., the Emergency Service Unit (ESU) arrived and went inside. They saw Simmons at the top of the stairs and told him to drop his weapon. Instead, Simmons fired a shot, hitting Det. Matthew Gale in the leg.
At least four officers fired back at Simmons. He was pronounced dead at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull.
“To have something like this happen is really dramatic and traumatic," said Angelo Maddox Jr., a close friend of Simmons. "It’s totally unexpected. He was a star in this neighborhood for as long as I’ve been here, which is practically all my life. So this is just mind-blowing.”
Sources say Simmons told his family, who were in the home, to leave for their own safety. They say he has a history of mental illness.
While officers believe that the incident started with a dispute between him and the elderly couple that lived upstairs from him, family members say he had no contact with them and was only spiraling from a mental health breakdown.
Police say two firearms were recovered at the scene, but it's unclear if both weapons were used. The incident was captured on body cam and drone footage.
“Check on your people," added Maddox Jr. "Just make sure that they get the services that they need. We never know what someone else might be going through. These incidents could’ve been prevented if we would’ve stepped in earlier and gotten him the help that he needed.”
