Authorities have released body camera footage of the moment a man accused of slashing three people with a machete in New York City’s Grand Central Station was fatally shot.
The shooting happened on April 11 after Anthony Griffin allegedly attacked three elderly people at the station, the New York Post reported in early May.
New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers were patrolling the area when Griffin went up the stairs from the fourth, fifth, and sixth subway platform carrying a machete. Although they repeatedly ordered him to drop the machete, he did not.
At one point, Griffin yelled, “I am Lucifer” before he moved toward Detective Ryan Giuffre. The officer fired two shots and Griffin fell to the ground.
“Police say the three victims, ages 65, 70, and 84, were stabbed prior to the officers’ arrival. They were transported to local hospitals. The 65-year-old man suffered an open skull fracture, a severe head injury putting the brain at high risk of injury or infection,” ABC 7 reported April 12. “It appears the three victims did not know each other and had chance encounters with the suspect, who was set on causing severe harm to people who were simply taking the train.”
Additional video footage showed police and what appeared to be bloody cloths on the floor at the scene:
Griffin, who had a previous run-in with law enforcement for menacing with a sharp object, was pronounced dead at a hospital after the shooting, according to the Post. The outlet said the victims were taken to area hospitals in stable condition.
“The two detectives involved, who were working overtime providing transit security, were also taken to the hospital to be treated for tinnitus, police said,” the outlet noted.
An image shows the machete the suspect was carrying:
In addition, the NYPD said its Force Investigation Division, along with the prosecutor who has jurisdiction over the incident, are still investigating and analyzing what happened.
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