Kidnapping suspect shot dead by NYPD during chaotic chase after woman heard 'screaming' in van

The driver of the white van was shot dead after witnesses reported a female 'kicking and screaming' inside the vehicle -Credit:PIX 11 News (PIX 11 News)

Police officers fatally shot a kidnapping suspect in Brooklyn on Saturday night after receiving reports of a female "kicking and screaming" inside a white van.

At approximately 7:19pm, a male and a female called 911 together to report a "possible abduction" at West 22nd Street and Surf Avenue, NYPD Assistant Chief Charles Minch said during a press briefing.

The male caller stated that he "saw a girl kicking and screaming" inside a white van while the female caller told the dispatcher that she "heard the girl saying 'Let me go' multiple times," Minch stated. During the 911 call, the two callers spotted NYPD officers in a police vehicle and informed them of the "potential kidnapping."

• Two injured as planes collide at Miami airport after nationwide ground stop chaos

• Grandfather charged with DUI after boy, 12, killed when off-road vehicle flipped over

The officers saw the white van and approached it, but as they did so, it drove onto the sidewalk and fled the scene at a "high rate of speed," Minch said. Officers put the description and plate number of the white van over their department radios.

Police caught up with the suspect, described as a man in his 30s, after he came across heavy traffic on the Eastbound Belt Parkway. Uniformed officers approached the van and commanded the driver to exit the vehicle.

Police said the driver was ramming into other vehicles when he was shot -Credit:PIX 11 News

The officers then smashed the front passenger side window. At that point, the driver began driving forwards and backwards, "ramming both police and occupied civilian vehicles indiscriminately."

Minch said that officers took "additional steps to try and stop the driver," including using pepper spray and deploying a taser which was "not effective." As the driver continued to ram nearby vehicles, officers discharged their firearms and shot him.

The man was removed from the vehicle and officers immediately called for an ambulance while performing CPR. The driver was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police later located the woman who'd been in the van -Credit:PIX 11 News

No one else was found inside the van, but police were later able to identify and locate the female who had been in the vehicle. "The female is an adult and was not injured.

She has confirmed that she was in the van and was screaming and exited the vehicle before the police officers first arrived," Minch said.

"At this point, we believe that the screaming was in relation to a domestic dispute," he added. The driver was wanted for an unlawful imprisonment last month and a domestic assault earlier this month.

The victim in both of those cases was the female who had been in the white van, police said. The NYPD are waiting until the suspect's family have been informed of his death to release his name.

Source: Crime