NY AG Tish James probing Long Island cop who fatally shot knife-wielding madman

A Suffolk County cop fatally shot a knife-wielding madman who allegedly charged out of the woods to finish off his bloodied victim, officials said.

Officers were called to a Centereach strip mall just after 8:30 a.m. on Sunday and arrived to find an unidentified 44-year-old man stabbed in the neck who they tried to save, according to authorities.

That’s when vagrant Emilson Yoan Ordonez-Vanegas, 29, burst out from a wooded area of Middle Country Road carrying a knife with a 10-inch blade and shouting to the top of his lungs, allegedly charging full speed at the officer and the bloodied victim, officials said.

Emilson Yoan Ordonez-Vanegas, 29, was fatally shot by a Suffolk County police officer after popping out from a wooded area screaming at the top of his lungs while holding a knife with a 10-inch blade. Google Maps

“[Ordonez-Vanegas] yells, he approaches the victim, who was being treated, and attempts to stab him again,” Suffolk’s top cop Kevin Catalina told reporters.

“One of our officers pulled out his weapon, fired at the suspect, striking him.”

Ordonez-Vanegas died from his injuries while the victim survived and was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment, cops said.

New York Attorney General Tish James has since launched an investigation into the shooting to find out whether lethal force was actually necessary — which is required by state law in all cases where police may have caused a death.

“Had it not been for the officer’s quick actions, the victim would have been stabbed with that knife and probably killed,” Suffolk’s top cop, Kevin Catalina, told reporters.

NY State Attorney General Tish James has already launched an investigation to determine if lethal force in the fatal shooting was necessary. James Messerschmidt for NY Post

The state probe will review the cop’s bodycam footage, forensic evidence and eyewitness accounts to determine whether the shooting met the legal threshold for justified force.

Police believe the two men were the only ones involved in the violent encounter, which unfolded behind a strip mall that houses a deli, restaurant and a smoke shop.

The motive for the stabbing remains unclear.