A barricaded suspect died and a police officer was shot during a standoff in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. The confrontation unfolded over several hours before ending in an exchange of gunfire. A widespread police presence remained at the active scene as the morning went on.
According to police, the situation began around 5:45 this morning. Officers responded to a report of shots fired inside an apartment on Kosciuszko Street, in the area between a KFC and Tompkins Avenue. The early-morning call drew officers to the building in Bed-Stuy.
When police arrived, additional gunshots were observed at the scene, authorities said. Officers found a man barricaded inside a two-story brownstone with a gun. Police said the man's wife and son were able to flee, but an elderly couple who also lived in the home remained trapped inside, turning the call into a tense standoff.
The New York Police Department's hostage negotiation team responded to the scene. According to police, officers tried to make contact with the suspect, who remained barricaded inside. The standoff stretched on for several hours.
After roughly two hours of attempts to talk the man out, the situation turned into a shootout. Police say that at about 8:52 a.m. emergency service unit officers entered the home, where the suspect was at the top of the stairs with a gun. Officers gave multiple orders to drop the weapon, but he refused and fired more rounds, striking one officer in the leg, and at least four officers returned fire.
The wounded officer was identified as Detective Matthew Gale, a 15-year veteran of the emergency service unit, who suffered a fractured shin bone. Police said he was in stable condition but would require surgery. Mayor Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch visited the detective at the hospital a short time after the shooting and wished him a full recovery.
The man who died was later identified as 48-year-old Lamin Simmons, who was pronounced dead at Woodhull Hospital in Bed-Stuy. Police recovered two guns from the scene, and his family said he had a history of mental illness, with neighbors describing him as a devoted father. Investigators said the confrontation may have stemmed from a dispute involving the elderly couple on the second floor, though it was not clear whether the couple was related to Simmons. The block was evacuated as the inquiry continued, and the state Attorney General's office will investigate the police-involved shooting.