8-year-old dead in Queens; police fatally shoot knife-wielding suspect: NYPD

JAMAICA, Queens (PIX11) – An NYPD officer fatally shot a knife-wielding suspect at a Queens apartment building where an 8-year-old boy was killed Thursday, police said.

The officer shot the suspect inside an apartment at 94th Avenue and Sutphin Boulevard in Jamaica around 5:15 p.m., according to the NYPD.

Police responded to the fifth-floor apartment and saw the male suspect allegedly holding a knife to his father’s throat, according to NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell.

“We gave repeated commands, both in English and in Spanish, to drop the knife. He did not. One officer fired one round, striking the target, saving that man’s life,” Chell said.

The suspect was later pronounced dead at a hospital, police said.

Police said the incident was some sort of domestic dispute. The suspect and the 8-year-old boy may be brothers or stepbrothers, Chell said. The exact circumstances of the 8-year-old boy's death were under investigation.

The 42-year-old father and a 29-year-old mother also suffered stab wounds in the incident, according to police.

An 8-month-old child who was also in the apartment was not hurt, police said.

“Our cops were here within three minutes to make fast-moving decisions. And those decisions saved a father and an 8-month-old child,” Chell said.