Police officers in New York City on Wednesday fatally shot a black man, known to be mentally ill, who reportedly pointed a silver metal pipe at them.
According to The New York Times, the officers believed Saheed Vassell, 34, was pointing a gun at them.
The shooting in Brooklyn came after police responded to reports that a man had a silver gun and was threatening people.
"The suspect then took a two-handed shooting stance and pointed an object at the approaching officers,” said Terence Monahan, the chief of the department, during a news conference.
Ten bullets were fired by four officers and Vassell was pronounced dead after he was taken to a medical center, police said.
Vassell's father told the Times that his son has bipolar disorder. He added that his son had gone to the hospital after other interactions with police.
According to the Times, officers had in the past classified Vassell as emotionally disturbed.
Protesters gathered in the Brooklyn neighborhood Wednesday night after the shooting.
“Almost two years after Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill condemned the police shooting of Deborah Danner, we’re left wondering what’s changed as NYPD officers have once again killed an innocent New Yorker struggling with mental health issues," Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said in a statement.
"Mr. Vassell and his mental health issues were reportedly well-known to the Crown Heights community and NYPD officers. We demand the NYPD release all surveillance footage they have of the incident, including any pictures or film beyond the still image that has already been made public."
Protests and rallies broke out in Sacramento earlier this month after the fatal police shooting of Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man.
Clark was shot by Sacramento police last month in the backyard of his grandmother's house.
--This report was updated at 10:57 a.m.
