NEW YORK ( CNN ) -- A young man carrying what turned out to be a hairbrush died Monday night in a hail of bullets fired by New York police . Khiel Coppin 's brother Joel Coppin spoke briefly with reporters saying , `` We want justice . '' Authorities were responding to a 9-1-1 call his mother made about a `` family dispute with a gun , '' police said . In the background of the call , played at a news conference Tuesday , 18-year-old Khiel Coppin can be heard saying , `` I 've got a gun , I 've got a gun , '' New York Police Department Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne told CNN . The teen put an object under his shirt and told his mother around the time she phoned 9-1-1 that he was going to say he had a gun , said New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly . The teen told her , `` ' I 'm prepared to die , ' `` Kelly told reporters . When authorities arrived at the Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment , the teenager had something stuffed under his shirt and several times showed a knife to police . `` Shoot me , kill me , '' he shouted , according to Kelly . `` Come get me . I have a gun . Let 's do this . '' Coppin ignored repeated commands to stop and get on the ground . Witnesses said the teen appeared to be holding an object underneath his shirt and pointed it at the officers . Coppin continued to approach officers , as they ordered him to stop , said Kelly . Twenty shots were fired ; Coppin was struck eight times , Kelly said . `` This was a terrible tragedy for Khiel 's family , no doubt about it , '' said Kelly . But the commissioner stressed that officers reasonably believed they were about to receive fire . Kelly said the teen 's mother reported he had not taken his anti-depressant and anti-psychotic medication . Police have not recovered a gun and do not believe that Coppin was armed , Kelly said . A reporter asked Kelly if it 's possible the young man was goading police to shoot him , a phenomenon known commonly in law enforcement circles as suicide-by-cop . `` That 's certainly a possibility , '' said Kelly . `` The boy did n't have no gun , he had a brush on him , '' said Andre Wildman , a neighbor who told CNN that he saw the shooting . Listen to mother 's 911 call » . Another neighbor , Wayne Holder , said police should be required to see a weapon before opening fire on a suspect . `` At least see a gun before you start to discharge it , '' Holder said . Police `` do n't even have to see it , [ if ] they think you got one , you 're going to get shot . '' Coppin was taken to a hospital where he was declared dead . An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday , the medical examiner 's office said . The Rev . Al Sharpton 's National Action Network is expected to hold a news conference on Tuesday about the shooting . Police said they were investigating whether Coppin had a history of mental illness and whether his mother had tried to have him hospitalized earlier Monday . The shooting came a year after unarmed groom Sean Bell , 23 , was killed hours before his wedding in a shooting involving New York police . In 1999 , unarmed African immigrant Amadou Diallo , 22 , died when police in the Bronx shot him 19 times . Bystander Dyshawn Gibson described Monday 's shooting to CNN affiliate WABC-TV . `` He dropped the brush , '' Gibson said . `` He put his hands up . Police just started firing . '' Coppin was seen pacing around the apartment prior to the shooting , according to an initial police statement issued Monday night . `` He began screaming from the window at his mother and the police , '' the police statement said . `` At some point , the male climbed out of the window and began crossing the sidewalk toward the police . '' That 's when police began firing , a police spokesman said . E-mail to a friend . CNN 's Jennifer Rizzo , Janine Brady and Alina Cho contributed to this report . Copyright 2007 CNN . All rights reserved.This material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed . Associated Press contributed to this report .
Official : Unarmed teen carried object under shirt , shouted , ` ` Kill me . '' New York Police Commissioner : He feared being fired upon . Police confirm that boy , 18 , was carrying hairbrush under shirt . Police say he ignored orders to shoot ; cops fired 20 shots , killing the teen .