A 29-year-old man was shot and killed early Sunday after police say he charged at NYPD officers with a box cutter during a domestic call inside a Far Rockaway apartment building in Queens around 12:25 a.m. The encounter unfolded on Nameoke Street as the man’s parents looked on, according to police.
Authorities said the call began as a family dispute and escalated when officers and the man’s parents encountered him armed in a hallway. The shooting comes amid continuing scrutiny of police responses to domestic incidents and edged-weapons calls. Investigators are reviewing body-worn camera footage, 911 recordings and physical evidence from the scene while the department’s Force Investigation Division conducts a standard review. The Queens district attorney’s office has been notified, and officials said they will determine whether any further inquiry or public release of video will occur in the coming days.
Police said two uniformed officers met the man’s parents outside their apartment shortly after midnight and entered with them to check on their son. The man was not in the unit when officers first looked, officials said, but he appeared in the building corridor moments later holding a box cutter. According to police, officers issued repeated commands to drop the blade. When the man advanced, one officer fired a Taser, which officials said did not stop his movement. As the man closed distance, another officer discharged a service weapon, striking him. “He continued to come forward despite clear, repeated orders,” Chief of Patrol Philip Rivera said during a brief update. The man collapsed, and officers rendered aid before medics took him to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Officials did not immediately release the man’s name pending family notifications. The officers’ names were also withheld Sunday as the investigation began. Police displayed a photo of the recovered box cutter but declined to specify the number of shots fired, the caliber used, or the exact distance between the officers and the man when the Taser and firearm were deployed. No one else was reported injured. The father was seen moving behind the officers as the confrontation intensified, according to a preliminary account read aloud at the scene. Neighbors in the building described hearing shouting, a Taser pop, and a single gunshot in quick succession just after midnight.
The building sits off North Nameoke Avenue near Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway, a corridor lined with mid-rise apartment houses and small storefronts. Overnight, yellow tape stretched across the lobby as detectives photographed the hallway, measured distances between scuff marks and shell casings, and collected the box cutter for evidence. Crime scene technicians mapped the area in 3D, a step officials said has become routine in officer-involved shootings. A light rain slicked the sidewalk while patrol cars idled at the curb; residents returning from late shifts paused as officers directed them to a side entrance.
The NYPD said both a Taser deployment and lethal force were used during the encounter, a sequence that will be examined frame by frame. Investigators will compare the Taser’s data log to time stamps on the body-camera video and the apartment building’s security system. Detectives also took statements from the parents and at least two residents who stepped into the hallway after hearing the commotion. Whether the box cutter was raised or held at the man’s side at the moment the shot was fired remained under review Sunday afternoon, officials said. Police did not immediately say whether the man had a prior history of mental health crises or arrests associated with the address.
Use-of-force incidents involving edged weapons have drawn increased attention in recent years, including departmental guidance on distance, de-escalation commands and the timing of less-lethal options in confined spaces. Police officials on Sunday emphasized the narrow hallway and the speed of the approach as factors they would analyze alongside the performance of the Taser probes. Residents said domestic calls in the building typically bring a swift response; one neighbor described hearing a woman pleading before the door opened onto the corridor. Another resident said officers spoke calmly at first, then raised their voices when they saw the blade.
After the shooting, the officers were transported to a local hospital for observation, consistent with department protocol, and placed on modified duty pending interviews with investigators. The Force Investigation Division will prepare a case file for the Queens district attorney, which may include enhanced stills from body-camera footage, diagrams of the hallway and statements from civilian witnesses. Officials said any public release of video would follow established timelines and redaction procedures. The medical examiner will perform an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death; routine toxicology testing can take weeks.
Shortly after dawn, a small group gathered near the building entrance, some leaving flowers by a railing. A 72-year-old neighbor said he awoke to shouting and the sound of a Taser, then a single shot. “It all happened very fast,” he said, calling the man quiet and usually polite in passing. Another resident shook her head and described seeing officers kneeling by the man before paramedics lifted him to a stretcher. As detectives cleared the last evidence markers, maintenance staff mopped the lobby tiles while residents stepped around the taped-off section to reach the elevator.
By evening, police said interviews with the parents and the two responding officers were underway. Officials expected initial lab processing of the box cutter and Taser cartridges to be completed early in the week. The next milestone is the preliminary incident synopsis from the Force Investigation Division, followed by any update from the district attorney on charging evaluations or public disclosures. No protests or organized gatherings had been announced by late Sunday, and police said patrols would remain visible in the area overnight.
Author note: Last updated December 21, 2025.