NYPD officers opened fire on a knife-wielding suspect in Queens just below the 30 Av subway station early Monday morning, according to police. Officers were responding to a call of a man with a knife around 6:20 a.m. at 30th Ave and 31st St in Astoria, the NYPD said. Police had received numerous calls of a man with a knife acting erratic with callers thinking he might stab someone, officials said. Police said they gave orders to the man to drop the 14-inch knife. After the suspect didn’t comply, officers used their Tasers but said they did not work. The NYPD then tried for nearly a minute to convince the man to drop the knife before he advanced on the officers and they were forced to fire, according to police. “They were forced to defend themselves,” said NYPD Chief of Department John Chell. Officers could be seen in a Citizen app video trying to render aid to the man after he was shot. The suspect, who was 61 years old, later died at a local hospital. Police said the man a history of mental health issues. The knife was seen by an NBC New York crew steps from the elevated subway tracks for the N and W lines. An investigation is underway and investigators could be seen placing dozens of cups on the ground to serve as evidence markers. The entire sequence of events as caught on body-worn police cameras and surveillance video from the scene. “The NYPD tries, at all times, to de-escalate and slow down these situations,” Chell told reporters. ...read more read less