The 4th of July holiday became a nightmare in Queens on Thursday afternoon after a man stabbed a child to death and police fatally shot the knife-wielding suspect in a domestic dispute, police brass said.
According to NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell, cops from the 103rd Precinct rushed to a luxury apartment building at around 5:20 p.m. in the Jamaica section of the borough, located at 147-25 94th Ave after several residents called police for help.
“A female came out of this building pleading for help. She ran down to the corner to MTA police to get help and simultaneously the security desk called 911 for assistance,” Chief Chell said. “Members of the 103 Precinct responded in three minutes.”
Upon arrival at the 5th floor apartment, authorities said, cops were confronted with a man, in his 20’s, holding a knife to his 43-year-old father’s neck. Inside that same apartment a 29-year-old woman had been wounded and an 8-year-old boy had been stabbed to death, all in the same apartment as an 8-month-old-baby. Chief Chell told reporters that cops demanded the man drop the weapon, but he refused, resulting in the officers shooting the suspect. The baby was unharmed.
Police say the perpetrator was rushed to a hospital; sources close to the investigation report that he later died.
Chief Chell said the 8-year-old and his killer were stepbrothers, however, the ultimate reason for the holiday rampage remains under investigation.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry said that the responding officers, who were examined at Long Island’s North Shore Manhasset hospital, were heartbroken after learning that the young child succumbed to his injuries.
“To see the emotional trauma on those officers’ faces, and one of them said we wish we could have got here a little sooner to save this young life,” Daughtry said.
The other victims involved are expected to survive.
This is a breaking news story, check back with amNY for updates.
