Violent sex offender wanted in shooting outside NYC bar killed after firing at cops during hours-long standoff

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Violent sex offender wanted in shooting outside NYC bar killed after firing at cops during hours-long standoff​



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Published Dec. 14, 2023

Updated Dec. 14, 2023, 8:47 p.m. ET













A violent sex offender wanted for a shooting and a slew of crimes was killed by cops Thursday after he opened fire on officers during a two-and-a-half hour standoff inside a lower Manhattan apartment, police said.
Chaos erupted when Kent Edwards barricaded himself inside the second-floor apartment bathroom at 206 Eldridge St. around 11:45 a.m., when police knocked on the door and served a search warrant, according to officials.
Two women answered and when police found out he had a gun, ESU officers converged on the building, Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said at a press conference.
The women fled while officers used drones and other technology to coax 43-year-old Edwards into surrendering, officials said.
But Edwards, of the Bronx, “rendered a lot of the technology useless” and smashed a drone with a broom while asking for a sister the police were unable to get in touch with, Maddrey said.





00:00 03:48
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Person With Gun Barricaded Lower East Side, Manhattan 201 Eldridge St"]https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/video-grabs-nypd-police-involved-73753175.jpg[/IMG] 10

A 43-year-old man wanted for shooting was killed by cops Thursday after he opened fire on officers outside a lower Manhattan apartment, law enforcement sources said. Citizen
Edwards — who has 11 prior arrests — also requested water and medicine.


When police followed a rolling camera inside the apartment, the cornered suspect unleashed four bullets at police.


A projectile hit an officer’s bulletproof vest and two shields were struck, Maddrey said.


[IMG alt="NYPD police involved shooting
Person With Gun Barricaded Lower East Side, Manhattan 201 Eldridge St"]https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/video-grabs-nypd-police-involved-73753163.jpg[/IMG] 10

The chaos erupted when the suspect barricaded himself inside the second-floor apartment at 206 Eldridge St. around noon, when police knocked on the door and served a search warrant, according to sources. Citizen
[IMG alt="NYPD police involved shooting
Person With Gun Barricaded Lower East Side, Manhattan 201 Eldridge St"]https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/nypd-police-involved-shooting-person-73751060.jpg?w=1024[/IMG] 10

The Emergency Services Unit “attempted to establish a dialogue” with the barricaded man before heading into the apartment as the suspect allegedly opened fire, striking a cop’s ballistic shield as the cops then shot the man. William Farrington
Cops then fired twice, fatally hitting Edwards in the lower back.


He was rushed to a local hospital but couldn’t be saved.


Police said Edwards was wanted for an Upper East Side shooting captured on a livestream in October.


A fight allegedly broke out between Edwards and a married couple inside Iggy’s Bar on East 76th Street and Second Avenue over using a photo booth.


Kent Edwards 10
Edwards — who has 11 prior arrests — also requested water and medicine.
“This argument quickly escalates and spills out to the street where Mr. Edwards shoots his victim one time in the left leg and pistol whips him to his head,” Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Thursday evening.


Edwards and a woman he was with fled the scene, police said.


Edwards, who was couch-surfing since the incident, was also wanted for other crimes, including forcible touching in March on the Lower East Side, a strangulation that occurred last year in Long Island City — and an active bench warrant was issued for failing to register as a sex offender, according to police and sources.


[IMG alt="NYPD police involved shooting
Person With Gun Barricaded Lower East Side, Manhattan 201 Eldridge St"]https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/video-grabs-nypd-police-involved-73753156.jpg[/IMG] 10

He was taken to Bellevue Hospital, but could not be saved, law enforcement sources told The Post. Citizen
NYPD ESU joined units attempting to serve a warrant on murder suspect 10
Edwards and a woman he was with fled the scene, police said. William Farrington
[IMG alt="NYPD police involved shooting
Person With Gun Barricaded Lower East Side, Manhattan 201 Eldridge St"]https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/206-eldridge-street-second-floor-73754611.jpg?w=1024[/IMG] 10

Sources said the mortally wounded man was wanted for an Upper East Side shooting captured on a livestream in October. William Farrington
[IMG alt="NYPD police involved shooting
Person With Gun Barricaded Lower East Side, Manhattan 201 Eldridge St"]https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/93ca5ef3-dec8-4cdd-b537-86ce4ecf72b9.jpg?w=900[/IMG] 10

A fight allegedly broke out between Edwards and a married couple inside Iggy’s Bar on East 76th Street and Second Avenue over using a photo booth.
[IMG alt="NYPD police involved shooting
Person With Gun Barricaded Lower East Side, Manhattan 201 Eldridge St"]https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/05795dff-f050-4998-92bb-63d700d353d5.jpg?w=899[/IMG] 10

Edwards and a woman he was with fled the scene, police said.
[IMG alt="NYPD police involved shooting
Person With Gun Barricaded Lower East Side, Manhattan 201 Eldridge St"]https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/1449035e-22b9-4230-9f01-fb2a1bbf2ce6.jpg?w=892[/IMG] 10

Police said his last arrest was in February for a rape and he served a 12-year prison stint for criminal sale of a controlled substance and attempted rape, prison records show.
His last arrest was in February for a rape, police said.


He served a 12-year prison stint for criminal sale of a controlled substance and attempted rape, prison records show.


Edwards was paroled in 2012.
 
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