Man Shot Dead by Police After Brutal Meat Cleaver Attack on Four Girls in Brooklyn

Bensonhurst, Brooklyn – April 7, 2025 – A horrific scene unfolded in a quiet Brooklyn neighborhood on Sunday morning when a 49-year-old man, identified as Longqian Chen, allegedly attacked four young girls with a meat cleaver, leaving them with serious injuries. The suspect, believed to be a relative of the victims, was fatally shot by New York City police officers after refusing to drop the blood-covered weapon, authorities confirmed.

The incident occurred at a residence on 84th Street in Bensonhurst, where police responded to a desperate 911 call around 10:15 a.m. on April 6. According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, the call came from an 11-year-old girl who reported that she and her siblings—ages 8, 13, and 16—had been stabbed by her uncle. “The 11-year-old caller stated that she and her siblings had been stabbed by her uncle. She did not know her address,” Tisch said during a press conference, praising the child’s bravery as she hid in a room to make the call (ABC7 New York, April 7, 2025).

Using advanced location technology, police dispatchers traced the call to the apartment, where officers arrived to hear screams emanating from inside. After forcing their way through a locked door, they encountered Chen standing near the entrance, wielding a large meat cleaver dripping with blood. “The officers ordered the man to drop the weapon several times. He refused and advanced towards them,” Tisch recounted. Two officers then discharged their firearms, firing a total of seven rounds, striking Chen and ending the threat (The New York Times, April 6, 2025).

Chen was rushed to Maimonides Medical Center in critical condition but succumbed to his injuries, police sources later confirmed (New York Daily News, April 7, 2025). The four girls, identified as sisters, suffered severe slash and stab wounds but are expected to survive. They were also transported to Maimonides Medical Center, where they remain in serious but stable condition. The 13-year-old is reportedly the most severely injured, according to police updates (CBS New York, April 7, 2025).

A fifth child, an uninjured boy, was present in the apartment during the attack and heroically ran to a neighbor’s home to seek help, further aiding the police response. “There were five children in there, four hurt, and a young man who so bravely went to the neighbors to alert them,” said NYPD Chief of Department John Chell (Yahoo News, April 7, 2025).

Investigators recovered two weapons from the scene: the blood-stained meat cleaver Chen was holding and an additional bloody knife found in another room. While the motive for the attack remains under investigation, family members told police that Chen had a history of mental illness, including treatment for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia in the previous year (New York Daily News, April 7, 2025). However, authorities noted no prior domestic violence reports at the address.

The community is reeling from the shocking violence. City Councilmember Susan Zhuang, speaking to family members, indicated that Chen may have been looking after his own children and those of relatives at the time of the incident (CBS New York, April 7, 2025). Neighbors described the event as “horrific and scary,” struggling to comprehend the tragedy that struck a family recently settled in the area.

Police continue to investigate Chen’s exact relationship to the victims—initial reports suggest he may have been the father of some and an uncle to others—and the circumstances that led to the rampage. “This could have ended very differently,” Tisch emphasized, crediting the swift actions of the 11-year-old caller, the responding officers, and police technicians for saving lives (The New York Times, April 6, 2025).

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