Investigators are trying to figure out why a 22-year-old pointed an imitation gun at a Brooklyn cop outside a Gerritsen Beach school—triggering an incident that lead to a fatal police shooting. Law enforcement officials haven't yet determined why George D'Amato Jr. aimed a fake firearm at a uniformed officer outside of P.S. 194 or why he refused to drop the toy weapon, though D'Amato's father says the cop who fired the three shots that took his son's life "did what he had to do."
Police received a 911 call yesterday afternoon warning them that an armed man was menacing passersby outside P.S. 194. When a single officer arrived at the corner Avenue W and Knapp Streetaround at around 3:10 p.m., D'Amato reportedly pointed the fake gun at the cop. "Drop it! Drop it!" the officer yelled, according to law enforcement sources. The officer then fired three times, striking D'Amato in the neck, torso and arm, according to the Times. D'Amato was taken to Coney Island Hospital and pronounced dead at 4:11 p.m. A witness described the scene to NY1: "I saw a body in the middle of the street and a police officer saying, 'he pulled a gun on me.'"
The officer who shot D'Amato has not been identified, but he reportedly remains on duty. A relative of D'Amato's said the 22-year-old had taken the day off from work at Duane Reade so he could enjoy the nice weather. "He was a good kid," she said. "His life was cut too short." According to the Daily News, police received reports earlier in the day that D'Amato—who has a previous arrest for criminal mischief and possession of burglar's tools—was threatening kids outside a housing complex and on a Little League field. D'Amato's father, George D'Amato Sr., told the Post his son "had minor scrapes with the law, nothing serious." He added: "I am retired law-enforcement myself. I know what it's like. I can't blame the officer. He did what he had to do."
