New York City police fatally shot a 20-year-old man Thursday evening after he allegedly threatened to carry out a violent attack at Mount Sinai Medical Center on the Upper East Side, prompting a swift and intense police response across several blocks.
The suspect, identified as Elijah Brown, had no prior history with law enforcement before the dramatic confrontation that put bystanders, hospital staff, and officers at risk.
According to police, the incident began around 7 p.m. inside a residential building on Madison Avenue near East 106th Street. Brown reportedly brandished a firearm inside an elevator, pointing it at another man in an unprovoked act.
Authorities say this alarming encounter marked the start of a chaotic sequence of events that would soon spill into the surrounding neighborhood. Moments later, Brown entered a deli at Madison Avenue and East 107th Street.
Surveillance footage and witness statements indicate that he went behind the counter, pulled out a gun, and demanded the employee call 911. While pointing the weapon, he allegedly declared his intentions to “shoot up” Mount Sinai Medical Center.
After making the threat, Brown stole the deli worker’s phone and left the store, heading south. At approximately 7:08 p.m., police say Brown briefly entered the hospital but then exited and placed a firearm on the ground near a tree outside.
For reasons still under investigation, he reentered the facility shortly after, where he encountered an off-duty NYPD officer assigned to security. Brown reportedly acted disorderly and claimed he had a gun.
When the officer attempted to escort him out, a struggle followed. Brown eventually broke away, retrieved the gun outside, and continued walking southbound along Madison Avenue.
Responding officers quickly converged on the area. They located Brown near East 96th Street, where, according to the NYPD, he raised the firearm toward them and fired. Body-camera and surveillance footage support police accounts that Brown shot first, leaving officers no choice but to return fire to protect themselves and nearby civilians.
Witness Layla Helou, who was at a bus stop nearby, described the terrifying moment: “He was near the bus stop, and it looked like a scuffle with someone else. Then all of a sudden, you just see a gun come out, and then, like, shooting.” She and others scrambled for safety as gunfire erupted.
Officers struck Brown during the exchange. They transported him immediately to Mount Sinai Medical Center—the very location he allegedly threatened—where he was later pronounced dead.
NYPD Chief of Patrol Philip Rivera spoke about the incident, commending the officers’ rapid action in the face of extreme danger. “Every day our officers put on their uniforms and encounter dangerous situations across this city,” Rivera said. “But it’s another kind of danger when someone goes into a deli and a hospital with a gun and opens fire directly at the NYPD.”
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