By Shaina McLawrence
Staten Island Advance, N.Y.
NEW YORK — Video footage has surfaced showing the moment an off-duty police officer was wounded in an alleged road-rage-induced shooting in Queens on Wednesday.
According to the NYPD, two suspects jumped the police officer and attempted to take the cop’s service weapon.
The 30-second clip — which was first obtained by the New York Post — appears to have been taken from a residence that faces the street, and shows two men wrestling on the asphalt. Two loud pops can be heard about 10 seconds apart.
The NYPD said in a press conference the wounded officer was driving along Queens Boulevard and 70th Street in Elmhurst at approximately 12:45 p.m. when he got into a traffic feud with a minivan.
When stopped at the intersection, a person associated with the minivan proceeded to smash the officer’s back window with an unknown object, police said.
The officer then got out of his personal vehicle to perform a lawful arrest of the two suspects, when the suspects began to fight the officer for his gun, discharging two rounds in the struggle, according to the NYPD.
Emergency services transported the officer and one suspect to a nearby hospital. The officer sustained a non-life threatening gunshot wound to the thigh. The suspect sustained a gunshot wound to the hand.
The police arrested brothers Edwin Rivera, 32, and Sean Rivera, 27, in connection to the shooting. Charges are still pending.
In a tweet about the incident, Staten Island District Attorney Michael E. McMahon, said, “I am eternally grateful to hear that this officer is in stable condition & that both perpetrators are in custody & we wish our brother in blue a speedy recovery!”
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