Holly MatkinBronx, NY – Security footage captured the moment when two New York Police Department (NYPD) officers were shot on Wednesday night while responding to a report of an armed suspect (video below).
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said the incident began at approximately 8 p.m. on Nov. 24, when someone called 911 to report having seen a man with a gun near 187th Street and Beaumont Avenue, WNYW reported.
Footage captured by a security camera showed the officers as they approached a man who matched the description provided by the 911 caller, according to WABC.
The suspect was sitting out on a porch with his hands in his pockets when the officers walked up to him.
The video did not have any audio, but Commissioner Shea said the male officer asked the suspect to remove his hands from his pockets as they approached, according to The New York Times reported.
That’s when the suspect stood up, pulled out a semiautomatic handgun and opened fire on the officers, hitting them both, WABC reported.
A female officer was shot twice in her upper right arm, according to Commissioner Shea.
The male officer was shot in his right underarm area, with the bullet exiting the left side of his chest, WABC reported.
Despite their wounds, both officers continued to fight back against the gunman.
The female officer returned fire, hitting the suspect three times, Commissioner Shea said.
The male officer wrestled his attacker to the ground and held him there until additional officers arrived at the scene, WNYW reported.
The wounded officers and the 23-year-old gunman were all transported to St. Barnabas Hospital.
Commissioner Shea said that both officers were expected to survive.
The shooter is also expected to recover, WNYW reported.
Investigators recovered the suspect’s Ruger handgun at the scene.
They said the pistol had been reported stolen in Georgia a year ago, WNYW reported.
The female officer who was shot in the attack is a one-year NYPD veteran who also serves in the U.S. Air Force reserves.
The wounded male officer has been a member of the police force for eight years.
Commissioner Shea said violent suspects have “no fear on the streets right now,” WNYW reported.
He described the gunman as a “career criminal with far too many arrests, still on the streets of New York City,” according to The New York Times.
“You have two New York City Police Officers at 8 o’clock in the evening on Thanksgiving Eve, walking up to an individual, in uniform, on a Bronx street, and immediately that individual takes out a gun and starts shooting,” the police commissioner told reporters, according to WNYW. “If that doesn’t tell you we have to take a second look…”
“We can take guns off the streets and fill up truckloads,” he continued. “Until we start putting some of these individuals in jail, we’re going to have a tragedy.”
Commissioner Shea praised the officers for how they handled the brazen attack.
“Within seconds, they are in a gun battle,” he said, according to the New York Post. “We have two incredibly brave police officers doing their job. And not complaining a bit right now, as they’re laying recovering in the hospital, eager to get back to work, and loving what they do serving the people in New York City.”
Watch the incident unfold in the video below. Warning – Graphic Content:
Video from last night’s shooting in the @NYPD48Pct
Both cops shot & will be ok, perp shot. This is how fast it happens. E 187st & Beaumont Ave. When I worked there, this area wasn’t that bad. Now it’s gang ridden. God bless our police. #BlueLivesMatter #BackTheBlue 💙🖤🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/mJBUq6bWfl
— Angel L Maysonet🇵🇷🇺🇸👮🏻♂️💙🖤 ✭ (@bigricanman) November 25, 2021
