Police fatally shoot knife-wielding man on Brooklyn Bridge

Police fatally shot a man on the cables of the Brooklyn Bridge early Friday morning after he refused orders to drop a knife and advanced on officers, authorities said. The incident, which occurred around 3:30 a.m. on September 4, 2026, led to the closure of the iconic span for several hours, disrupting morning commutes. According to officials, officers responded to a 911 call about a man on the bridge who appeared to be attempting to jump. Members of the New York Police Department's Emergency Services Unit (ESU) found the man walking on the bridge cables, holding a knife. For nearly an hour, ESU officers, secured by safety harnesses, attempted to deescalate the situation and persuade the man to come down. During the standoff, the man told officers he wanted to die and claimed to have a bomb, according to Gerard Dowling, commanding officer of the ESU, who spoke at a press conference. Officers repeatedly ordered him to drop the knife. The situation escalated when the man began to descend the cable rapidly toward the officers, who were positioned below him on the same cable. Despite the officers moving backward, they could not retreat as quickly as the man was approaching.