Two bystanders are recovering from injuries at local New York City hospitals after police opened fire on an unarmed man, missing him twice and hitting two women in bustling Times Square around 10 p.m. on Saturday night.

Police were in pursuit of a man who they said was behaving strangely, walking into oncoming traffic and pretending to point a gun at New York Police Dept. officers.

"One officer saw him out in the middle of the street, he obviously was causing a disturbance," NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said. "Cars were trying to avoid him... it appeared that he wanted to be struck by the cars."

The officers leapt into action, pursuing the man and firing three shots at him in an effort to subdue him. The shots missed the man, but police were finally able to bring him down using a Taser. The suspect, 35, was taken to a mental health facility for monitoring and evaluation.

“The only thing the individual had on his person was a wallet which was recovered from his right rear pocket,” Kelly said.

A 35-year-old woman and a 54-year-old woman were injured in the chaos. One was struck by a stray bullet and sustained an injury to her right leg. The other suffered a wound to her buttocks. Both are in stable condition.

View videos of the standoff below.