Officer shoots at individuals playing with fake guns

The two imitation firearms police recovered at the scene.

A police officer fired a single round at a group of men holding fake guns on a stairwell inside the South Jamaica Houses on February 15.

According to police, they received a call at around 7:43 p.m., regarding individuals fighting and using narcotics inside 106-35 159th Street. When they arrived at the scene,  they encountered three males. Two of them were holding what appeared to be firearms.

The officers drew their firearms and ordered the individuals not to move, according to police. One of the individuals is accused of turning towards the officers with the firearm, which prompted one officer to fire a single round, which didn’t strike anyone.

One of the individuals was taken into custody at the scene and two remain at large. Police recovered two imitation firearms at the scene.

In 2014, 28-year-old Akai Gurley was killed in a stairwell of a Brooklyn housing project when Officer Peter Liang discharged his weapon. Liang was convicted of manslaughter but served only house arrest and community service after his conviction was downgraded to criminally negligent homicide. Liang was fired from the NYPD.

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