By Police1 Staff
ASTORIA, N.Y. — Witness videos captured the moment authorities converged on a suspect in a string of random violence against civilians, PIX11 reported.
On Sunday, police surrounded the residence of 23-year-old James Patrick Dillon, who was running from authorities after a crime spree.
Hundreds of officers including the NYPD’s counterterrorism unit surrounded the home, New York Magazine reported.
Dillon’s crime spree began in the morning when he tried to hit a 39-year-old female victim with a brick after she made eye contact with him. The fight escalated and Dillon slashed the mother of four with a knife across her cheek, then stabbed her in the back of the head.
Dillon then got into an altercation with a liquor store employee and subsequently stabbed and killed the store’s manager. Outside the store, he dumped gasoline on a 61-year-old homeless man and set him on fire. The man survived and was being treated for severe burns.
As officers arrived at the suspect’s home, gunfire erupted. Two officers were injured when Dillon threw a chemical substance (believed to be gasoline) on them.
Dillon suffered a gunshot wound to his leg, but authorities aren’t sure if it was from police gunfire or self-inflicted.
Officers found a knife at Dillon’s residence during the arrest.
“This has been a very unusual day here in Astoria,” NYPD assistant chief Diana Pizzuti told the publication.
No charges had been filed. The incident was still under investigation.