Holly MatkinCoram, NY – A Suffolk County police officer was shot by a gang member during a foot chase on Long Island on Thursday afternoon, according to officials.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said during a press conference that police were conducting surveillance on known Bloods gang member Janell Funderburke on May 11 as part of a robbery investigation, the New York Post reported.
Commissioner Harrison said Funderburke, 20, walked out of a house on Norfleet Lane at about 1 p.m. and spotted four police vehicles parked in the area, so he took off running, according to FOX News.
One of the officers jumped out of his police vehicle and took off after the suspect, Commissioner Harrison said.
The commissioner noted the officer, who was in plainclothes, identified himself as law enforcement and ordered Funderburke to stop, the New York Post reported.
That’s when the gang member allegedly fired off two rounds at the pursuing officer, hitting him in the upper right thigh.
Funderburke then ran into another home and barricaded himself inside, according to Commissioner Harrison.
The wounded hero’s fellow officers quickly rushed to his aid, securing two tourniquets to his leg and applying Quickclot to help curb the bleeding, FOX News reported.
He was rushed to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he underwent surgery, according to CBS News.
He was listed in stable condition on Thursday night, the New York Post reported.
Commissioner Harrison said doctors believe the officers’ quick actions likely saved their comrade’s life.
The police commissioner did not release the wounded officer’s name, but said he is a six-year department veteran who is engaged to be married and has a 17-month-old daughter at home.
Police said Funderburke was taken into custody after a 20-minute standoff, the New York Post reported.
In addition to facing charges in connection with the robbery that prompted the police surveillance, the gang member has also been charged with attempted murder.
Funderburke was previously arrested in 2022 for criminal possession of a weapon, the New York Post reported.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone noted that police deal with attacks like this all the time – often without the public even realizing the severity of what has occurred.
“All of us who aren’t in law enforcement go about our lives each and every day and we don’t see 99 percent of the work that is happening out there by these police officers,” Bellone said, according to CBS News. “They are literally putting themselves in danger.”
“Because of the heroic efforts of members of the Suffolk County Police Department and this officer who was injured, and shot in the line of duty today, there is a dangerous individual who is off the streets,” he added, according to News 12.
