An armed suspect was fatally shot by police in front of the Cooper Park Houses in East Williamsburg on Sunday morning.
According to multiple media reports, officers responded at 7:44 a.m. to multiple 911 calls related to at least two armed robberies in the vicinity of the complex.
Witnesses say the suspect, a 42-year-old man named Jermaine Johnson, was threatening people with a gun before the police showed up.
Johnson fired at the cops five times before they shot back, according to the NYPD.
Cops say they fired 12 to 15 shots after Johnson opened fire on them, at least one of which fatally struck him in the torso.
He was taken to Woodhull Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
According to authorities, Johnson was a Brooklyn resident but did not live in the Cooper Park Houses.
The New York Times spoke to several residents of the housing complex following the incident, who expressed a mixture of gratitude and concern over the use of lethal force.
“We have good neighbors here,” long-time resident Darlene Roman told the New York Times. “We’re working-class people who work hard. We’re safe here, except for today, when an intruder came to our neighborhood. But for the grace of God, we’re safe now. The police did what they had to do.”
When DNAinfo spoke to two of the victims who were accosted by Johnson that morning, they said he wasn’t behaving in a rational manner and was convinced that the victims were federal agents.
The NYPD recovered a .40-caliber handgun at the scene, which they say belonged to Johnson.
Neither of the two officers involved were injured.
Cooper Houses are not in Greenpoint.