By Luke Peteley
Staten Island Advance, N.Y.
NEW YORK — The man who was shot and killed by police at a Brooklyn hospital Thursday evening was a former officer with the NYPD, according to a department spokesperson.
That individual, who barricaded himself in a hospital room and threatened people with a sharp weapon, was identified by the NYPD as 62-year-old Michael Lynch, a Brooklyn resident.
Lynch had no criminal record and resigned from the department in the 1990s, for reasons that were not immediately clear, as reported by abc7.
In a post on X, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch described Lynch as “emotionally disturbed.”
It was around 5:27 p.m. that the NYPD received multiple calls for a barricaded man armed with a weapon that had cut himself and was trying to cut others at New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, Charles Minch, assistant chief and commanding officer of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South, said at a press conference Thursday night.
Minutes later, officers arrived and made their way to the room on the eighth floor, which was splattered with blood, according to Minch. An elderly patient and a member of hospital security staff were trapped in the room with Lynch.
Officers issued numerous verbal commands in an attempt to get Lynch to drop the sharp weapon, according to a statement from the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information’s Office.
When Lynch moved towards officers, police deployed tasers, which were ineffective, the NYPD said.
Lynch then made another advance towards officers and it was then that they discharged their firearms and struck him. According to the NYPD, Lynch was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to Gothamist, police do not know why Lynch was at the hospital Thursday and were investigating what led to the shooting.
A relative of Lynch’s reportedly told Gothamist that the family was struggling to process the shooting and that the behavior described by police was out of character for him.
The NYPD’s Force Investigation Division is continuing the investigation into the shooting, the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information’s Office said.
The fatal shooting of a Great Kills resident
The shooting at the hospital preceded another shooting Thursday night in Manhattan’s West Village.
In that case, police fatally shot Dmitriy Zass, 37, a resident of Great Kills, after he allegedly pointed an imitation firearm at officers.
Assistant Chief James McCarthy, commanding officer of Patrol Borough Manhattan South, shared details of that shooting during a press conference late Thursday night.
According to preliminary information, at approximately 10:53 p.m., officers on patrol were flagged down by two individuals in the vicinity of Bedford Street and 6th Avenue, he said.
Those individuals informed police that they were involved in a vehicle collision with a BMW that attempted to flee the scene.
That BMW was stuck in traffic when officers approached, the chief said. It was then that Zass allegedly stepped out of the BMW and pointed what appeared to be a firearm at the officers, according to the NYPD.
In response, officers shot Zass, McCarthy said.
Officers immediately requested EMS to transport Zass to an area hospital, McCarthy added. It was at the hospital that Zass was pronounced deceased at 11:17 p.m.
The imitation firearm was recovered at the scene. It has since been identified as a Sig Sauer air pistol, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
On Friday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted a statement on X in the wake of the shootings. The post stated the following:
“Last night’s shootings at Brooklyn Methodist Hospital and in the West Village are devastating to all New Yorkers. I know many are eager for answers. The NYPD is conducting an internal investigation — I will work with Commissioner Tisch to ensure this is as thorough and swift as possible. These tragedies are painful, whether they take place steps from our home or miles away. They are a reminder of the immense work that must be done to deliver genuine public safety — work Commissioner Tisch and I are undertaking together every day.”
© 2026 Staten Island Advance, N.Y.. Visit www.silive.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
