NY Man Who Begged 'Suicide By Cop' For Fear Of COVID-19 Succumbs To Virus

A man from New York, who was afraid of coronavirus and wanted to die by "suicide by cop" in an encounter with the New York Police Department (NYPD), has actually died from COVID-19.

Authorities revealed Thursday (May 28) that 55-year-old Ricardo Cardona from the Bronx succumbed to the disease at the Jacobi Hospital.

NYPD spokesman Carlos Nieves said that Cardona's cause of death was "COVID-19, complicated by underlying health conditions and gunshot wounds.”

The police also released the 911 calls and the video of Cardona's encounter with officers Xaiver Marcus and Cindy Nieves to shed light on the incident before closing his case.

On April 1, Cardona called 911 to report a gunman by his building.

"There’s a guy, he’s got a knife in his hand, and he’s got blood on it," the recording revealed. "I think he also has a gun. He’s talking to himself and everything,” Cardona said, actually referring to himself.

Marcus and Nieves arrived at the scene, and gunfire ensued. Cardona begged Marcus repeatedly to shoot and kill him as he writhed in pain from gunshot wounds fired by the cops because he refused to lower his long-barrel black powder gun.

The video showed that Cardona was shot 11 times before he fell to the ground. Marcus approached him and heard Cardona's cries to be killed. Marcus refused Cardona’s request as other officers also approached and grabbed Cardona's gun and a combat knife.

The NYPD spokesperson said that Cardona told the cops he wanted to "die by suicide by cop" because he was diagnosed with the dreaded viral disease. His niece, Gabriella Marquez, confirmed the diagnosis.

Cardona was a security guard who experienced symptoms of coronavirus in late March. He sought treatment at the Westchester Square Campus Hospital in Montefiore but was told to go home and wait for the tests. He returned to the hospital on March 31 and learned he was positive for COVID-19. Marquez said that his uncle was upset about having the disease because he was a high-risk diabetic patient.