NYPD officers shot and killed a man who threatened to "change the government" by killing Governor Kathy Hochul and the "PD chief", only to "blow up the world" later, New York Post reported, citing police and sources.
While the sources identified the killed suspect as Raul Hardy, NYPD Chief of Patrol Jeffrey Maddrey said during a press conference that the suspect "clearly stated that he was going to blow the head off of the first police officers that he saw."
Police arrived at 205-17 116th Ave. in Cambria Heights shortly after 6 p.m. local time on Saturday. Hardy himself called 911 to threaten the officers.
When the cops arrived at the scene with their guns ready, Hardy emerged from the house, responded to the police by name, but refused to show his hands or cooperate. Later, he opened fire at the officers, with six cops having to shoot back.
Maddrey said that officers then tried to perform CPR and other life-saving measures, but the suspect was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
New York Post contacted the man's cousin, Brian Ware, who revealed that he came to the crime scene after being reached out by another relative who said that Hardy might have been shot.
“All my life I’ve known him to live there,” Ware said. “Never knew him to have any guns.”
According to the outlet, Hardy had multiple prior domestic incident arrests.
The governor's office has not commented on the incident.