NYPD: Man Shot Dead in West Village After Pointing Imitation Gun at Cops

The second NYPD-involved shooting to occur under the new Mamdani administration occurred in the West Village on Thursday night Dec. 8 when a 37-year-old Staten Island man, Dmitriy Zass, drew what turned out to be an air gun on cops responding to reports of a road rage incident. Zass, according to police refused to drop the weapon which is made to look identical to the 9mm handgun from the same manufacturer.

The incident appears to have begun on 6th Avenue somewhere in Soho and ended on Bedford Street east of 6th Avenue.

This fatal shooting of an armed suspect followed the fatal shooting of an “emotionally disturbed” patient (later revealed to be a former NYPD cop and FDNY firefighter, Michael Lynch, 62) at Methodist Hospital, in Park Slope, Brooklyn, had taken another patient and a hospital security worker hostage.

More than one news outlet referred to Zass’ Sig Sauer as “fake” —which is incorrect. The gun was real, it just happened to be an air pistol which shoots pellets, not its near identical sibling, the Sig Sauer M17 Luger, which shoots 9mm bullets.

Indeed, Sig Sauer itself boasts about how its air guns and rifles are “designed to match the originals”—and the responding officers correctly ascertained that Zass’ weapon appeared potentially lethal.

Assistant Chief McCarthy at the Crime Scene

A late night press conference led by Patrol Borough Manhattan South Chief James McCarthy shared what was then known.

“At approximately 10:53 p.m. tonight, officers on patrol were flagged down by two individuals on Bedford and 6th Avenue... They stated they were involved in a motor vehicle accident with a BMW that attempted to flee the scene. The BMW was stopped in traffic when the officers approached.

“At that moment, a 37-year-old, exited the BMW, drew what appeared to be a firearm, and pointed it at the officers.

“Once observing the firearm, the officers discharged their weapons.

“The subject maintained possession of the firearm while officers repeatedly gave commands for him to drop the weapon.

“Officers immediately requested EMS to try to save the individual’s life. A 37-year-old man was removed to an area hospital, where he was pronounced deceased at 11:16 p.m.

“An imitation firearm was recovered on the scene. The two officers were removed to area hospitals to be evaluated. Everything that happened tonight was shown on their body worn camera.

He said the incident is being investigated by the Force Investigation Division.

Aftermath

As of the morning of Jan 9, Zass’ white BMW, its front bumper unattached, and New York license plate KMP-1071 was still parked on Bedford Street, just past Bedford Triangle Park.

Zass’ driving record is unremarkable. Six tickets, two outstanding, including a so-called “School Zone Speed Camera Violation.”

So whatever was wrong with Zass’s’ life, his driving record doesn’t reveal it. Nor does his social media. Zass attended Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn and since 2006, he worked in advertising for four years; at Zip Car for almost five; and since January 2016, he was the General Manager at NYC Details & Wash Inc.

Though he has no known criminal record, it was reported that Zass had recently had a domestic dispute with his parents, who live on Elverton Avenue in the Great Kills section of Staten Island.

A reporter for the Staten Island Advance went to the home but the Zass family declined to speak. A neighbor, who’d known Dmitriy since his family moved in about 20 years ago, said “He was a really nice boy. As a matter of fact, he took care of our dog for a whole week for us, and he walked him every day. I had many conversations with him. Great kid. I don’t know what happened.”