A Queens gunman shot dead by cops after threatening to kill Gov. Kathy Hochul was apparently mentally ill and had become increasingly troubled in recent years, neighbors told The Post on Sunday.
Raul Hardy, 60, was killed in a hail of about 100 New York police bullets on Saturday after he threatened to “blow up” the world and “change the government” by killing Hochul – and then opened fire on the cops.
Neighbors said Hardy had become increasingly erratic since his mother’s death.
“He was fine until three years ago when his mother died,” said a local resident who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Now he’s saying the same thing, crazy, screaming. Now we hear it every day.
“I don’t want to think about it,” said the neighbor. “It’s sad.”
Another neighbor, a 38-year-old mother, called the shooting “heartbreaking.”
“His erratic behavior was becoming more frequent and I was worried about him,” she said. “I didn’t know who to turn to. I don’t know his family.
New York City police at the scene where Queens man Raoul Hardy was fatally shot by police officers on July 9, 2022. Paul Martinka. Neighbors described Hardy as mentally ill and increasingly disturbed over the past three years. Paul Martinka
“He seemed like a nice guy at first, but he didn’t go to work,” she said. “He’s been hanging out in the back of his garage and recently he’s had episodes where he’s been cursing and talking to himself. He was definitely suffering from mental illness.”
The woman called Saturday’s fatal shooting “intense.”
Hardy fired at the cops after making several threatening calls to 911.
“It was intense and the shooting was non-stop,” she said. “My son was in the high chair when it started, I picked him up and threw him to the ground. … It’s really heartbreaking.
“He always waved and greeted me and my son when we came home. He helped the neighbors. He would help clean up the backyards.
Police said they responded to the Cambria Heights neighborhood around 6 p.m. after receiving multiple threatening 911 calls from Hardy.
“He made it clear that he was going to blow the head off the first police officers he saw,” NYPD Chief of Patrol Jeffrey Maddy said at a press briefing. “A little while later, he made another call to 911 and basically repeated the same thing.”
Police said Hardy also threatened to kill Hochul in one of the statements.
According to Madri, police officers swept into the neighborhood and approached Hardy’s house with guns drawn.
Hardy walked out of the 116th Avenue home, refusing to show his hands or answer police, Madry said — after which the suspect opened fire on the cops.
Hardy threatened to kill Gov. Kathy Hochul in one of his statements to police. Paul Martinka Police officers hold photos of the gun used by Hardy (right) and the man shot by police in Brooklyn on Saturday. Paul Martinka
Six of the officers returned fire and hit Hardy, fatally wounding him, he said.
Officers attempted to revive Hardy but were unsuccessful.
Law enforcement sources said Hardy had been arrested numerous times before in domestic incidents.
The shooting came about an hour before Brooklyn police shot and killed another man after he ran from a traffic stop and opened fire on police.
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