Forty-five-year-old Amir Hamza died Monday night after a state trooper shot him outside a camper at the Whip-O-Will Campground in Purling.
The confrontation happened just before 8:30 p.m. on September 14, 2026, in the small Greene County town of Cairo.
State police came to the campground after getting a report about a physical fight involving two men on the grounds.
When officers arrived, they found a man with a visible head injury who pointed them toward a nearby campsite where Hamza was inside a camper.
Troopers walked up to the door, knocked, and called out that state police were outside.
Hamza stepped out of the camper holding what appeared to be a black handgun, pointing the barrel directly toward one of the troopers while moving forward.
The trooper stepped out of his path, pulled his gun, and shot Hamza.
Police immediately started first aid, performing CPR and using an automated defibrillator, but Hamza died at the scene.
Crime scene investigators later checked the weapon Hamza held and confirmed it was a black pistol-style BB gun.
The shooting is now under review by the New York Attorney General’s Office and state police investigators in Catskill, while campground neighbors mourn the loss.
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