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NYPD Releases Video Of Cops Shooting Hammer-Wielding Suspect
By
Ben Yakas
Published May 13, 2015
Modified May 14, 2015
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By
Ben Yakas
Published May 13, 2015
Modified May 14, 2015
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This morning, police fatally shot 30-year-old David Baril—the suspect who allegedly attacked several people around Manhattan with a hammer earlier this week—after he threatened officers in Midtown Manhattan.
At a press conference this afternoon, Police Commissioner William Bratton and NYPD Chief of Manhattan Detectives William Aubry described the circumstances leading up to the fatal shooting. They said that uniformed officers Geraldo Casaigne and Lauren O'Rourke were at the corner of 37th Street and 8th Avenue just after 10 a.m. when they observed an individual fitting the description of Baril (cops had already matched his subway pic to the mugshot via facial recognition software).
He was wearing a mask and hood this morning, and when the officers approached him, police say he took out his hammer and made a motion to swing at O'Rourke. You can see surveillance video of the incident below.
05-13-15 MTS Hammer Suspectby Gothamist
Casaigne discharged his weapon four times, striking the suspect twice, once in the right arm and once in the torso. Baril was transported in custody to Bellevue Hospital, where he was declared dead. O'Rourke sustained shoulder abrasions and lacerations to the back of her head and back, and was also transported to Bellevue Hospital.
Bratton and Aubry said that Baril, who is a Bronx native, has paranoia and schizophrenia, and had been staying at a mental health facility in upper Manhattan before he checked himself out recently. Cops believe he may have been living in the street or subway. Baril has eight prior arrests, including an incident in which he tried to attack a cop on Roosevelt Island.
They added that Baril may have put a photo on one of his social media accounts last year showing a bloody hammer. They didn't specify where, but Vocativ found an Instagram account they believe belongs to Baril that included lots of disturbing, graphic poetry. One such poem from 2014 titled "Blood Stains" reads, "I brought a gun to this fight time to die..."
Update: It appears that the photo the NYPD referenced is a photo of a drawing Baril made of a bloody hammer:
Instagram
Additional Reporting by Jen Chung
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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