By Maura Grunlund
Staten Island Advance, N.Y.
NEW YORK — A 22-year-old police officer heading to work was shot and wounded by two armed suspects who also fired at other officers and left a bullet hole in a police vehicle in Queens, according to authorities.
Responding officers placed the injured off-duty officer in their car and transported him to Jamaica Hospital where he was in stable condition with injuries that were not considered life threatening. Police are questioning two suspects, officials said at a new conference early on Wednesday.
Officials railed against the number of illegal guns on the streets of New York City.
“Our officer, this young man, was on his way to work, on his way to protect New Yorkers from criminals like the two who were arrested today,” said NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell. " The Police Department is well past standing at podiums telling people there are too many illegal guns on the street and far too many people carrying them ready to pull the trigger.”
“We need to really be clear on what happened today because it speaks volumes of what we have been stating over and over again,” said Mayor Eric Adams. “When these two individuals shot at a passenger driving a car, they didn’t shoot at a police officer. They shot at a civilian, and then to find out that they shot at police officers, it sent a message they had no regard of who they were trying to kill.”
Adams praised responding officers for how they handled the pursuit of the suspects.
“And our officers, as you will hear, showed a great level of restraint,” Adams said, “so the conversation we have been having over and over again, (about) the proliferation of guns, (people) ready to use them on individuals in blue uniforms or blue jeans. They don’t care‚ they don’t care, and to see something like this happen repeatedly in our city is unacceptable.”
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The alleged assault began around 10:20 p.m. Tuesday when the 22-year-old male cop in his personal vehicle was stopped at a traffic light at Beach Channel Drive and Beach 62nd Street, said NYPD Chief of Department Chief Kenneth Corey, who previously served as the top cop on Staten Island.
The suspects walked over to the officer’s car and used a gun to tap on the driver’s side window. When the officer stepped out of his car, one of the two suspects then allegedly fired several shots at the cop. Despite being struck in the shoulder, the officer returned fire but did not hit the suspects who fled on foot, Corey said.
Uniformed officers from the 100th Precinct heard the sound of gunfire and rushed to render aid to the wounded officer and broadcast the description of the fleeing suspects over the police radio. Uniformed Public Safety Team officers from the 100th Precinct saw two males who fit the descriptions about three blocks away at Beach Channel Drive and Beach 59th Street, Corey said.
As those officers stepped out of their car, the suspects allegedly fired a shot toward the police and in doing so struck the rear bumper on the passenger side of their unmarked police car, Corey said.
“As the mayor stated, the officers exercised great restraint and did not return fire and I want to emphasize that these officers are being fired at and did not shoot back,” Corey said. “Instead, they chased the suspects on foot and apprehended the two of them a short distance away without further incident where a firearm was also recovered.”
Police showed photos of the bullet hole in the unmarked car and the gun allegedly used by the suspects.
The mayor said he will be talking about gun control with President Joe Biden when the commander in chief visits New York City on Thursday.
Adams said “we’re going to lay out clear items we need on the federal level just as we did with state lawmakers. Everyone must be on the same team.
“Our officers today showed the level of restraint that we know our Police Department is capable of doing. Those officers were fired upon and did not return fire.”
The response by the officers was “in the same model and method of policing as what we promised we were going to institute in this city and we’re going to continue to expand on that regardless of those that don’t understand the proper methods of policing,” Adams said. “This department is going to fight to keep this city safe.”
(c)2022 Staten Island Advance, N.Y.