A man was shot and killed by New York police officers on Saturday, during an attempted arrest in the East Village neighbourhood of Manhattan.

An NYPD spokeswoman confirmed to the Guardian that the man was fatally shot earlier on Saturday afternoon, at around 1.45pm, but did not identify him, saying that the name had yet to be released to the press, pending notification of family.

The New York Post identified the man and said he was wanted on a robbery charge.

At a press conference held at the scene, NYPD chief Jim O’Neill said a “violent physical struggle” had taken place in a hallway after the suspect ran from the first attempt to arrest him, that the fight continued for about five minutes, and that one detective fired a single shot, hitting the suspect in the torso.

The NYPD spokeswoman confirmed to the Guardian that the man struggled with two officers and took one of their radios. The man used the radio to hit both officers, one of them in the head, the spokeswoman said.

Asked if the man had a gun, the spokeswoman said no. Asked if the police considered the radio to be a weapon, she said: “Well, he was striking them with it.”

The man was taken to hospital, where he died. Both detectives were taken to hospital. Their injuries were not considered serious.

An investigation was ongoing.