New York-UNS :In response to the police involved shooting that occurred on 31st St and 30th Ave on the morning of April 14, 2025, New York City Council Member Tiffany Cabán, New York State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, New York State Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, and New York State Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas released the following joint statement: “A tragedy happened in Astoria early this morning.
While further details and footage of the shooting will continue to bring light to the incident, this is what we have been told so far:
Our neighbor with a reported history of mental illness was shot to death by the police because the NYPD used lethal force after being unable to de-escalate a 56-second interaction with a 61-year old man holding a knife.
As we await more details, here are things we know: there are glaring gaps in our city’s mental health infrastructure. There are glaring gaps in our city’s emergency response infrastructure, particularly as it relates to New Yorkers with mental illness.
Our community is reeling and our hearts are broken. This is not true public safety.”
