It happened around 7:15 a.m. at 105 Willis Avenue, between Bruckner Boulevard and East 132nd Street.
The man was identified as 44-year-old Lucien Colon, a convicted felon and registered sex offender, who police say missed a parole hearing. Members of NYPD's fugitive enforcement unit descended on the apartment looking to arrest Colon on a bench warrant.
Colon was in the apartment with his girlfriend who opened the door.
"When I opened the door, they pushed me, that's when my dog came in my door, they told them my dog was probably going to attack them, that's when they pulled out a gun," Marivel Alicea said. "Then I grabbed my dog and just put him in the bathroom and I went in the bathroom with the dog."
Members of the squad approached the bedroom where police say Colon made his intentions clear.
"The subject was told to show his hands, to which he responded, 'I have a gun,' the officers ordered the male to step out of the room, which he responded, 'it's not going to happen,'" said NYPD Deputy Chief John Wilson.
Police say officers tried to deescalate the situation, and after 90 seconds of yelling for Colon to drop the weapon, an officer opened fire -- striking him near the face.
He was taken to Lincoln Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The 44-year-old was on parole after serving 10 years for the attempted murder of an 18-year-old woman and he had previously served time for rape when he was 15.
"He had a good heart. He had a bad life since youth. You know, neglected by family members and he turned into smoking K2 and doing heroin," Alicea said.
Police released a photo of the gun recovered at the scene.
"We're not sure yet if it's a real gun or not, obviously we have to do a crime scene, we're not allowed to touch the gun until crime scene processes the scene," Wilson said.
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