Eric Van Reid was shot at about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in the parole office waiting room.
Police say Reid objected to a search of his backpack and wielded a knife.
They say he ignored an order to drop the weapon, and a parole officer shot him once in the head.
The state Division of Parole says a parole officer was taken hostage before the shooting.
Reid, 50, of 48th Street in Woodside, New York had a long criminal record dating back to 1974, according to police.
In 1978, he was convicted of shooting a police officer in Brooklyn. The officer survived the shooting.
In 1989 near Syracuse, he was convicted of breaking into a woman's apartment and raping her.
He was denied parole five times before finally getting released in November 2008
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WEB PRODUCED BY: Lakisha Bostick
NEW YORK AND TRI-STATE AREA NEWS
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