A man carrying a knife was shot dead by New York police officers on the Brooklyn Bridge in the early hours of Friday morning after claiming he had a bomb and expressing a wish to die. The incident forced the temporary closure of the historic bridge, a major tourist attraction, and comes just days after a separate fatal stabbing of a stranger in Times Square, adding to concerns about public safety in the city.

Police were called to the scene shortly before 3:30am after reports of a man walking along the bridge's beams and cables. Officers climbed up to try to talk him down; after about an hour, he began climbing towards them and raised the knife at an officer, prompting another officer to open fire. He was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Both lanes of the bridge were shut during the response but reopened shortly after 8:30am.