Belt Parkway in Brooklyn Closed in Both Directions After NYPD Shoots Man in Leg

A man was shot in the leg by NYPD officers on a section of the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn, shutting down the highway and causing miles-long backups in both directions.

Investigators said that police approached a car that was stopped on the parkway near Cropsey Avenue in Gravesend late Thursday afternoon, which led to police opening fire. It was not immediately clear what led up to the shooting, but police said that a weapon was recovered at the scene.

A man was taken to the hospital after getting shot in the leg, police said. Law enforcement sources said that the man died at the hospital. His identity has not yet been released.

The shooting caused the entire Belt Parkway to be shut down in the directions just before 5 p.m., according to the city’s Office of Emergency Management, which encouraged drivers to find alternate routes. Some westbound lanes were eventually reopened, but there were still heavy delays on that side as well.

Traffic was said to be backed up on the eastbound side to the Verrazano Bridge, and at least up to Flatbush Avenue in the westbound lanes.