This article has been updated here.
A mentally-ill Bergen-Lafayette man was shot this afternoon in a confrontation with a Jersey City police officer.
The man was taken to Jersey City Medical Center in critical condition. According to one report that could not be confirmed, he succumbed to his injuries a short time later.
The shooting took place at approximately 4 p.m. at 256 Randolph Ave.
According to several individuals near the scene of the shooting who did not wish to give their names, the victim suffered from an unknown mental illness. One person said that police were already familiar with the man from previous incidents.
A woman who spoke with both the victim’s family and the police said that the man had been hospitalized previously. “They shouldn’t have let him out” she said.
The victim was described as being older, perhaps in his 60s or 70s. “He was a big guy..more than six feet tall…and walked with a limp” said a man sitting on a porch down the block from the shooting.
A woman said she had spoken with the police and was told that the victim brandished a knife before the shooting.