Both bystanders are women from Manhattan, and happened to be walking in the vicinity when the police officers opened fire, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said at a news conference at Bellevue Hospital Center early Sunday morning.
A bullet hit one woman, 54, in the leg, fracturing her tibia and fibula, Mr. Kelly said. She was taken to Bellevue Hospital where she was expected to undergo surgery. The other woman, 35, suffered a graze wound to the buttock. She was treated at Roosevelt Hospital and was in the process of being released, Mr. Kelly said.
Both women were shot on the northeast corner of 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue in Times Square. Neither woman was identified.
The agitated man, who witnesses and officials said had been darting in front of cars on 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue, was in police custody at Bellevue Hospital, Mr. Kelly said. The man’s identity was not immediately disclosed. Mr. Kelly said the man is 35 years old and from New York. The extent of his injuries was unclear.
Witnesses said that the man was hit by several cars.
In a video of the episode captured by a witness on his cell phone, the man is seen running erratically around the intersection as police officers tried to corral him out of the street.
“He was just wandering, running away from the cop,” said a witness who described himself as a retired police officer and did not want to be named. “He tried to run and ended up getting hit by three different cars.”
At the news conference early Sunday, Mr. Kelly, citing the preliminary investigation, said that in fact the man had not been hit by any cars.
“It appeared that he wanted to be struck by cars,” Mr. Kelly said.
At one point, Mr. Kelly said, the man put his hand in his pants. He then withdrew it and mimicked shooting at police officers, Mr. Kelly said, though his hand was empty. That is when the two officers opened fire. One officer fired one shot and the other fired two shots, Mr. Kelly said. Neither officer hit the man, who was later surrounded by officers, shocked with a Taser and subdued, Mr. Kelly said.
The police later wheeled the man into an ambulance. He was conscious and sitting upright, dressed in a green sweater. He appeared to be handcuffed.
He only had a wallet in his possession, Mr. Kelly said.
One of the officers involved had been with the police department for one and a half years, Mr. Kelly said. The other had three years of experience. Neither had been involved in any shooting incidents before Saturday, he said.
A bullet hit one woman, 54, in the leg, fracturing her tibia and fibula, Mr. Kelly said. She was taken to Bellevue Hospital where she was expected to undergo surgery. The other woman, 35, suffered a graze wound to the buttock. She was treated at Roosevelt Hospital and was in the process of being released, Mr. Kelly said.
Both women were shot on the northeast corner of 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue in Times Square. Neither woman was identified.
The agitated man, who witnesses and officials said had been darting in front of cars on 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue, was in police custody at Bellevue Hospital, Mr. Kelly said. The man’s identity was not immediately disclosed. Mr. Kelly said the man is 35 years old and from New York. The extent of his injuries was unclear.
Witnesses said that the man was hit by several cars.
In a video of the episode captured by a witness on his cell phone, the man is seen running erratically around the intersection as police officers tried to corral him out of the street.
“He was just wandering, running away from the cop,” said a witness who described himself as a retired police officer and did not want to be named. “He tried to run and ended up getting hit by three different cars.”
At the news conference early Sunday, Mr. Kelly, citing the preliminary investigation, said that in fact the man had not been hit by any cars.
“It appeared that he wanted to be struck by cars,” Mr. Kelly said.
At one point, Mr. Kelly said, the man put his hand in his pants. He then withdrew it and mimicked shooting at police officers, Mr. Kelly said, though his hand was empty. That is when the two officers opened fire. One officer fired one shot and the other fired two shots, Mr. Kelly said. Neither officer hit the man, who was later surrounded by officers, shocked with a Taser and subdued, Mr. Kelly said.
The police later wheeled the man into an ambulance. He was conscious and sitting upright, dressed in a green sweater. He appeared to be handcuffed.
He only had a wallet in his possession, Mr. Kelly said.
One of the officers involved had been with the police department for one and a half years, Mr. Kelly said. The other had three years of experience. Neither had been involved in any shooting incidents before Saturday, he said.