QUEENS — NYPD officers fatally shot a Maryland man who was reaching for his gun against their orders in South Ozone Park, police said.
George Tillman, 32, was next to an SUV outside of a relative's party near 135th Street and 116th Avenue about 1:33 a.m. with a gun in his waistband and open bottle of alcohol in hand when officers in an unmarked car approached him, sources said.
Tillman bolted, running down toward 116th Street where a second unmarked NYPD squad car caught up to him, police said.
That's when he reached a .40-caliber Hi-Point handgun in his waistband, prompting four NYPD officers to open fire, police said.
Tillman, who lives in Maryland, was hit in the torso several times and pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital, police said.
He was previously arrested in Queens, sources said.
The police officers were not injured, but were brought to Long Island Jewish Medical Center to be evaluated, police said.
The officers who killed Tillman appeared to be acting within the NYPD's shooting guidelines, sources said. The state's attorney general can take over investigations into deadly NYPD shootings, but hasn't moved to look into Tillman's death.
