The gunman killed by police in Brooklyn was firing at a man who had tried to mug him moments before his fatal clash with the NYPD, police sources said Tuesday.
Nathan Scott was firing at the 19-year-old mugger and a woman along E. 57th St. and Remsen Ave. in East Flatbush when members of the Brooklyn South Critical Response Team arrived at the scene around 6 p.m. Monday.
“Hey! Stop!” cops could be heard yelling at Scott, 20, just before gunshots were heard, according to a video of the incident seen by the Daily News.
During the frightening exchange, cops fired off more than 15 rounds, hitting the gunman multiple times on the sidewalk.
A 60-year-old bystander working on a car across the street from the shooting scene was hit by two stray bullets, but it wasn’t immediately clear if those shots were fired by Scott or police.
Cops were first called to a street corner two blocks away at Linden Blvd. and E. 57th St. after receiving numerous 911 calls of a shooting in progress. After canvassing the area for about seven minutes, they found Scott sprinting after his two victims “firing numerous rounds trying to shoot them,” NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said at a press conference Monday night.
“Our officers jump out quickly (of their cars) and take care of the threat,” Chell said. “They ran towards the threat when they heard the shots and they took out a threat and saved two peoples’ lives.”
Cops did not disclose how many shots Scott fired but a window to an unmarked police car was hit by two bullets during the exchange, cops said.
Two sisters who were shooting a music video on a nearby roof heard the shots, which one of them described as “rapid fire.”
“We were looking over the roof during the shooting,” Jada Babb told the Daily News. “They could’ve shot us. The cops came and there were helicopters.”
Medics rushed Scott to Kings County Hospital where he died. His gun was recovered by cops.
Scott has never been arrested in New York, cops said.
The unarmed man who tried to mug Scott was taken in for questioning. While he wasn’t immediately charged in Monday’s incident, cops charged him with a March 7 robbery where an 18-year-old man was shot in the neck and chest on East New York Ave. and Mother Gaston Blvd. in Brownsville.
The would-be mugger has been arrested six prior times and is a suspect in a non-fatal shooting in Queens back in 2022, according to police sources.
No cops were hit in Monday’s exchange of gunfire but four officers were taken to an area hospital for evaluation.
Cops are still trying to determine who fired the shots that hit the 60-year-old innocent bystander. Investigators were coordinating with the hospital to have the slugs removed from the surviving victim and sent in for ballistics testing.
A review of Monday’s shooting was underway by the NYPD’s Force Investigation Division, police said.
Members of the NYPD’s Critical Response Team, known for their khaki pants and NYPD polo shirts, patrol in unmarked vehicles and have been involved in a number of vehicle pursuits in the five boroughs. Team members have also been criticized for acting aggressively when they respond to 911 calls.
