Man fatally shot by NYPD after report of possible abduction on Belt Parkway
Police say witnesses reported hearing a woman scream inside a van before the driver allegedly rammed police and civilian vehicles on the Belt Parkway.
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A man was fatally shot by NYPD officers Saturday evening after reports of a possible abduction in Brooklyn led to a confrontation on the Belt Parkway, where authorities say the driver rammed several vehicles, including police cars.
Assistant Chief Charles Mitch said at a press conference the incident began at approximately 7:19 p.m. near West 22nd Street and Avenue S.
The incident prompted a massive emergency response, shutting down portions of the Belt Parkway near Coney Island Avenue as police investigated.
Citizen app footage shows a swarm of NYPD vehicles on the parkway near a white van. Police helicopters were also seen hovering overhead.
According to police, a man and a woman called 911 after seeing what they believed was a possible abduction involving a white van.
One caller reported seeing a girl "kicking and screaming" inside the vehicle, while another said she heard a woman repeatedly yelling, "Let me go."
The callers alerted nearby NYPD officers and pointed them toward the van, police said.
Officers located the vehicle, but as they approached, the driver allegedly drove onto a sidewalk and sped away.
Police broadcasted the van's description and license plate information over department radio channels.
Authorities later found the van in heavy eastbound traffic on the Belt Parkway.
Uniformed officers approached the vehicle and repeatedly ordered the driver to exit, police said.
Officers then broke the front passenger-side window in an effort to remove him from the van.
According to investigators, the driver then began driving forward and backward, striking police vehicles and multiple vehicles with people inside.
Police said officers attempted to stop him using pepper spray and a Taser, but those efforts were unsuccessful.
As the driver continued ramming nearby vehicles, officers opened fire, striking him, according to police.
Officers removed the driver from the van and immediately began lifesaving measures, including CPR, before EMS transported him to Lutheran Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Several officers were also taken to a hospital for evaluation.
Police have not released the man's identity as of Sunday morning.
Investigators later located the woman who had initially been reported inside the van.
Police said she is an adult, was not injured and told detectives she had exited the vehicle before officers first arrived.
Investigators now believe the screaming stemmed from a domestic dispute, though the investigation remains ongoing.
Police said the driver was wanted in connection with an unlawful imprisonment case reported last month involving the same woman who had been inside the van.
The closed lanes on the parkway have since reopened as of Sunday morning.
The incident was captured on body-worn camera footage and remains under investigation by the NYPD Force Investigation Division.
