Holly MatkinQueens, NY – An off-duty New York police officer was shot in the Rockaway neighborhood as he was heading to work Tuesday night, according to police.
The attack occurred as the 22-year-old officer was stopped at a light at Beach 62nd Street and Beach Channel Drive in his personal vehicle at approximately 10:18 p.m. on Feb. 1, WPIX reported.
New York Police Department (NYPD) officials said the officer was approached by two male suspects, one of whom tapped on his window with a gun and ordered him out of his vehicle.
When the off-duty officer got out of his car, one of the suspects fired at him multiple times, according to police.
Despite being shot in the shoulder, the officer was able to return fire and sent his attackers running for their lives, WPIX reported.
They were not hit by the gunfire.
The shooting occurred near the NYPD’s 100th Precinct and officers raced to the scene after hearing gunfire.
They sent descriptions of the suspects over the radio as they helped the wounded off-duty officer, WPIX reported.
Police spotted the suspects about three blocks away a short while later and tried to make contact with them, at which point the gunman opened fire on their unmarked police vehicle, hitting the rear bumper, according to the NYPD.
The officers bailed out of the car and chased the suspects down on foot, WPIX reported.
Police did not return fire during the incident, NYPD officials noted.
Investigators said they found a stolen .38-caliber handgun on one of the suspects as they were being taken into custody, WPIX reported.
It is unknown what charges the two men, ages 18 and 19, may be facing.
The wounded off-duty officer was loaded into a patrol vehicle and rushed to a local hospital, New York Mayor Eric Adams’ spokesperson told WPIX late Tuesday night.
The unnamed officer underwent surgery that night and is expected to survive, according to WCBS.
Police sources said the young officer is a rookie assigned to the NYPD’s 63rd Precinct in Brooklyn, WPIX reported.
He was the sixth NYPD officer to be shot so far this year, New York City Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch said during a press conference Tuesday night.
Two of those officers, 22-year-old Officer Jason Rivera and 27-year-old Officer Wilbert Mora, were killed.
“What we can’t allow to happen is that it becomes routine to open up the newspaper or turn on the news in the morning and near that another New York City police officer was shot,” Lynch said.
Adams said the gunmen had “no regard of who they were trying to kill,” WCBS reported.
“The conversation we have been having over and over again,” the mayor said, according to the New York Post. “Over proliferation of guns, ready to use them on individuals in blue uniforms or blue jeans. They don’t care.”
“To see something like this happen repeatedly in our city is unacceptable,” he added.
