Knife-wielding man on Brooklyn Bridge cables fatally shot after ignoring
orders to drop weapon
[September 05, 2026]
By KATHY McCORMACK
Police fatally shot a knife-wielding man walking on the cables of New
York City’s Brooklyn Bridge after he ignored orders to drop the weapon,
authorities said Friday. The shooting happened when he moved within feet
of an officer trying to help him climb down.
The shooting at one of the city's most famous landmarks closed the
bridge and tied up traffic for part of the morning. It happened four
days after a woman randomly stabbed two people in Times Square, killing
one, and then was fatally shot by officers.
The man told the police rescue team that he wanted them to kill him and
that he had a bomb, Gerard Dowling, commanding officer of the city's
Emergency Services Unit, said at a news conference.
The officers had used a safety harness to attach themselves to the
bridge and spoke to the man for about an hour, saying they wanted to
help him and bring him to safety, Dowling said. They told him to drop
the knife multiple times.
At one point, the man began to climb down a cable quickly. The officers
were in a line below him on the same cable, Dowling said.
“The officers began to move backwards away from the male, but they were
not able to move as quickly as the subject, who was approaching them,”
he said.
When the man came within 3 feet (.9 meters) of one officer, he raised
his arm with the knife extended toward the officer. One of the officers
on the roadbed of the bridge then shot him once, Dowling said. The
officers brought the man down and started rendering aid. He later died
at a hospital.
Police body cameras recorded the encounter, he said.
Members of the team “are specially trained for these types of high-risk
and incredibly dangerous situations,” Dowling said. “They receive
extensive instruction on de-escalation and how to engage with
individuals compassionately.”
The man's name was not released.
Police said in addition to a knife, they recovered a flashlight.
When a reporter asked if police found a bomb, Dowling said that was part
of the ongoing investigation.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted online that officers responded
after receiving a 911 call about a man “who appeared to be attempting to
jump from the bridge.”
He said the police tried to de-escalate the situation and urged the man
not to jump.
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The sun rises behind the Brooklyn Bridge on Oct. 11, 2023, in New
York. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)
“The man was holding a knife and threatened the officers. He
eventually moved toward the officers, coming within close proximity
to a number of responding officers. One responding officer
discharged his weapon and struck the man,” Mamdani said.
The police department posted a video on social media in July about
the Emergency Service Unit’s successful rescue of a woman in
distress who had climbed onto the bridge. The team specializes in
high-angle rescue, scuba and emergency psychological technician
training, Dowling said in the video.
The Brooklyn Bridge, which opened in 1883, is a cable-supported
suspension bridge that connects Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Its tower height is 276.5 feet (84 meters) above water. It's not
clear how high up the man and the police officers were.
The stabbings on Monday happened near a New York Police Department
substation, just outside One Times Square, the building that hosts
the city’s annual New Year’s Eve ball drop celebration. It is one of
the most heavily touristed and policed spots in all of New York.
A 49-year-old Queens woman pulled two knives from a shopping bag and
stabbed a 68-year-old man in the abdomen, Police Commissioner
Jessica Tisch said at a news conference. The man had just left the
subway station and was waiting to cross the street with his wife.
Seconds later, the woman also stabbed a 32-year-old woman in the
abdomen, Tisch said. The victim later died.
Officers tried to convince the woman, identified as Pamela Cisneros,
to drop the knives for several minutes before using a Taser, Tisch
said. The woman told them: “I’m not dropping anything, I would
rather kill both of you,” according to Tisch.
A video shows the Taser failing to incapacitate Cisneros, who walks
quickly toward the officers while waving the knives in front of her.
Two officers then shot the woman, according to police.
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