NYC Police Fatally Shoot Man Carrying Metal Pipe

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Police Department says officers responding to reports of a man threatening people with a gun fatally shot a man carrying a metal pipe, mistaking it for a firearm.

Police say 34-year-old Saheed Vassell was killed around 5 p.m. Wednesday in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn.

The New York Times says a tense crowd gathered as police investigated the shooting.

It says police had encountered the man before and classified him as emotionally disturbed.

Chief of Department Terence Monahan says five officers responded after three 911 callers reported a man "pointing a silver firearm at people on the street."

Monahan says Vassell "took a two-handed shooting stance" and "pointed an object at the approaching officers."

Four of the officers then fired a total of 10 rounds.