New York: New York City police killed a resident of a home that was being burglarized Thursday night while he apparently was rushing to help his brother.
The victim was identified as Brooklyn resident Duane Browne, 26.
Police from the 75th Precinct were sent to his home after receiving a report of armed burglars with their faces covered inside Browne's home, New York City Police Chief Ray Kelly said at a press conference.
Two men assaulted the victim's brother in the basement of the house while Browne was watching television with his girlfriend on an upper floor, Kelly said.
The burglars fled when they saw the police car arrive. Browne, not realizing the men had left, grabbed a 38-caliber revolver and came out the back door in an apparent attempt to assist his brother. He was confronted by police officers.
"Police told him to freeze," Kelly said. "He continued to move. They told him to freeze twice."
One of the officers then shot Browne in the chest, Kelly said.
"The officers were in uniform," the police chief said.
The shooting occurred in the same neighborhood where a policeman was killed last month while responding to a robbery.
"I don't think it played a role," Kelly said about the previous incident.
A police spokeswoman said, "The whole incident is under investigation."
However, Browne's girlfriend, Renita Ferdinand, cast doubt on whether the police acted properly.
She said Browne went downstairs to investigate suspicious noises. He returned wounded after being shot.
The police officers approached her and told her to leave, she said. They continued interrogating Browne while he bled, she told New York television news channel NY1.
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