NARCOTICS OFFICERS KILL MAN IN HARLEM

Undercover narcotics detectives, trying to arrest a man who had just sold
them crack cocaine in Harlem late Saturday night, shot and killed him after
he pulled out a gun and fired at them, the police said yesterday.

The police identified the dead man as Justin Singleton, 21. The police said
that just before midnight at West 111th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue,
four plainclothes officers bought crack from Mr. Singleton and when they
tried to arrest him, he began shooting at them.

The detectives then returned fire, striking Mr. Singleton several times,
the police said. Mr. Singleton was taken to St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital
Center, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

A second man was shot once in the chest, but the police said yesterday that
it was unclear what role, if any, he had in the shooting. That man, whose
age was given as 20 but whose name was not released, was in stable
condition at St. Luke's yesterday, they said.

Results of ballistics tests to determine the origin of the bullet that
struck him had not been completed yesterday.

It was unclear how many shots were fired.

Officers recovered a 9-millimeter handgun on the ground next to Mr.
Singleton, the police said, adding that there may have been another gunman
involved.

None of the detectives were shot, but they were taken to New York
Presbyterian Hospital for trauma treatment, the police said.