Police have arrested the man who urinated inside a Brooklyn nail salon, sparking a shooting that left a mentally ill man dead and an NYPD officer in a medically-induced coma, officials said.
Dewayne Hawkes, 26, was charged with resisting arrest, criminal trespassing, and disorderly conduct for his role in the deadly event inside the Goldmine Nail Salon on Mother Gaston Blvd. near Sutter Ave. in Brownsville at about 5:40 p.m. Friday night, police said.
Hawkes was urinating on the floor of the store when disgusted workers flagged down two passing officers, authorities said.
As they attempted to arrest Hawkes, T-shirt peddler and panhandler Kwesi Ashun, 33, burst in the door and confronted the officers, grabbing a chair and swinging it into the face of one of the cops, police said.
The officer managed to pull out his firearm, fatally shooting Ashun in the head, officials said.
Medics rushed the veteran officer, who was not identified, to Brookdale Hospital, where he was placed in a medically-induced coma.
His partner was taken to Kings County Hospital to be treated for ringing in his ears, police said.
Ashun, who was arrested in 2004 for a similar attack in which he slashed a patrol officer with two knives, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Brooklyn man suffered from bipolar disorder and was “spiraling,” according to family, who say they tried to get him help just days before the attack unfolded.
“We are all very distraught because as a family we tried to follow protocol. We really tried to help him. We reached out to the city,” said Ashun’s sister, 35-year-old Ama Bartley, who told the Post that Health Department workers visiting Ashun and deemed him not to be a physical threat just eleven days before the nail salon attack.
“He was a beautiful soul who was just battling some heavy things. We were trying,” she said.
Hawkes was released from Kings Country Criminal Court without bail on Saturday.
Warning: Graphic Language