NEW CITY – A man who barricaded himself in a house in New City and fired a rifle at police several times, was shot to death when Clarkstown Police gained entry the residence hours after the incident began Sunday night.
The 57-year-old man, whose name police did not release, had brandished a shotgun at a female relative at around 7 p.m. The woman, who he threatened to kill, attempted to wrest the gun away from him, but then ran out of the house at 67 North Little Tor Road in New City along with other family members and a tenant.
For hours, the Clarkstown Police crisis negotiating team spoke with the man trying to get him out, but he fired several rounds at the officers. One round struck a neighbor’s house.
Police then used gas agents in an effort to flush him out, but he began
firing at the officers again. At that point, an officer fired one round
back at the house and after a period of inactivity, the Rockland County
Sheriff’s Office deployed a robot to explore the house, but because
of debris and items in the house, the device could not perform its intended
function, so Clarkstown officers made a tactical entry and found the man
dead from a gunshot wound.
It was not immediately known if the wound was self-inflicted or the result of the exchange of gunfire with police.
The investigation is continuing.
