NYPD Bodycam Shows Officers Fatally Shoot Wei Chan on Ludlow Street

Bodycam video released Friday by the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James shows NYPD officers shooting and killing Wei Chan, 54, inside his Lower East Side apartment building after he slashed his elderly father with a large kitchen knife, according to footage reported by the New York Post.

The episode unfolded on Aug. 16 at a residence on Ludlow Street. Officers responding to the building found a trail of blood leading up an interior stairway before encountering Chan, who was holding the blade, the Post reported.

What does the bodycam footage show?

The video captures officers climbing the stairs while calling out to Chan. "Hey, what's going on? Show me your hands. Show me your hands," one officer says, according to the footage. Chan is heard shouting incoherently and does not comply with repeated commands to drop the weapon, the Post reported. As officers realize he is armed, one calls out, "He's got a knife, he's got a knife," and at least two draw their firearms.

Why did officers open fire?

According to the footage, Chan advanced down the stairs toward the officers while still holding the knife, prompting them to fire. "Pop, pop, pop," one officer says in the video as multiple shots are fired in quick succession. Chan then fell down the stairs and came to rest on a landing, the Post reported. Emergency medical responders performed CPR before taking him to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

What happened to Wei Chan's father?

Chan's father, Chung Chan, 75, was found on the second floor of the building with a laceration to his head. Investigators determined he had been slashed by his son, the Post reported. The elder Chan was also taken to Bellevue Hospital and was listed in stable condition. The footage does not show the attack on the father directly; officers discover the blood trail and the injured man as part of their search of the building.

Did Wei Chan have a criminal or mental health history?

Police said at the time of the incident that Wei Chan had no prior criminal history with the NYPD but had a documented history of mental health issues, according to the Post's reporting. No further detail on the nature of that history, treatment, or any prior contact with mental health services has been made public in connection with the released footage.

By the numbers

• Aug. 16: Date of the confrontation on Ludlow Street.
• 54: Age of Wei Chan, who was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital.
• 75: Age of Chung Chan, Wei Chan's father, who was listed in stable condition after the attack.
• At least 2: Officers seen drawing weapons in the bodycam footage before shots were fired.

What happens next in the investigation?

The attorney general's office released the footage Friday, nearly three months after the shooting, but the Post's report does not include a statement from James's office characterizing the officers' conduct as justified or otherwise. A butcher knife was recovered at the scene, according to the NYPD. No further findings from any review of the shooting beyond the video itself have been made public in the sourced reporting.

What to watch

• Whether the attorney general's office issues a formal determination on the shooting beyond releasing the footage.
• Chung Chan's recovery and whether he is able to provide an account of the attack.
• Any update on Wei Chan's documented mental health history and whether he had prior contact with city mental health or crisis-response services.
• Whether the NYPD or city officials comment further on officer conduct captured in the video.

The footage, filed by the Post under its coverage of police shootings and body cameras on the Lower East Side, remains the only public account of the incident as of this reporting. No additional witnesses, 911 call details, or departmental statements beyond those cited above appear in the record reviewed for this story.