An "emotionally disturbed" man running in the streets of Times Square on Saturday night caused New York police to open fire, wounding two bystanders.
Officers were trying to arrest 35-year-old Glenn Broadnax, who was reportedly walking into traffic at the 8 Avenue Port Authority bus terminal, attempting to get hit by cars. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and mimicked firing a gun at police, triggering officers to open real fire.
"At some time he reached into his pocket, took out his hand and simulated as if he was shooting at them," Kelly stated.
Officers let off three shots before another member of the NYPD took Broadnax down with a taser.
Two women were hit by crossfire on a nearby corner, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told CNN. An unnamed woman, 54, was shot in the knee. Another 37-year-old woman's buttocks were grazed by the bullets.
Both victims were rushed to the hospital for medical treatment; the younger woman was cared for and released overnight, while the woman who sustained knee injuries was reported to be in stable condition by Sunday, after undergoing surgery on her right leg.
Broadnax has been charged with obstructing governmental administration, riot, criminal possession of a controlled substance, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and menacing, according to an NYPD statement released Sunday morning. After police took Broadnax into custody, they transferred him to Bellevue Hospital on 1 Avenue for further screening. Police officials called him an "emotionally disturbed person." Kelly said an extensive investigation would follow.
One witness said Broadnax looked like he did get hit by a cab in the scuffle, and was running to the driver's door when police attempted getting a hold of him.
"The guy was in the middle of the street in oncoming traffic and the cops were trying to get him out of the road," Bystander Kerri-Ann Nesbeth told CNN, adding that she was stunned by the event.
"I hear stories when people don't even know they are shot, so I checked myself and realized it was all clear," she stated.
