Holly MatkinQueens, NY – Bodycam footage captured the moment when a gunman burst into a home and shot two officers who were inside trying to help a domestic violence victim figure out how to leave her abuser (video below).
The gunman who shot the officers was the victim’s husband, 41-year-old City College security officer Rondell Goppy, the New York Daily News reported.
The incident began on the morning of Nov. 24, 2020, when 41-year-old Sharon Goppy went to the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) 105th Precinct in Queens Village to report her husband had choked her during an argument the night prior, according to the NYPD video release.
Sharon said they were fighting about Rondell’s alleged infidelity, the New York Daily News reported.
After speaking with the victim, NYPD Domestic Violence Unit Officer Joseph Murphy and Officer Christopher Wells escorted her back to her Springfield Gardens home.
The couple’s children were at school and Rondell wasn’t home when Sharon and the officers arrived at the house at approximately 12:45 p.m., according to the NYPD video release.
They went inside and discussed Sharon’s plan to pack up her belongings to go stay with her sister, where her children had already been staying, the New York Daily News reported.
They’d been inside the residence for approximately six minutes when Rondell arrived outside, according to the paper.
“Oh, he’s coming. That’s him,” Sharon told the officers as Rondell approached the front door.
Security camera footage showed the suspect as he charged into his home armed with a .40-caliber Glock and a 9mm Smith and Wesson, police said.
He immediately opened fire without saying a word, shooting Officer Wells in the right thigh and hitting Officer Murphy in both hands.
Investigators said Rondell fired a total of 11 bullets during the attack.
Despite being wounded, both officers immediately returned fire, shooting the gunman in his left flank, upper-left chest, lower-left back, and both feet, killing him, according to the video release.
The officers fired a combined 24 rounds during the gun battle.
Sharon was not injured during the exchange of gunfire, the NYPD said.
Both wounded officers were rushed to Jamaica Hospital and have since been released.
Investigators recovered Rondell’s two firearms at the scene, according to the video release.
Police Benevolent Association (PBA) President Pat Lynch called the bodycam footage “chilling” and “difficult to watch,” the New York Daily News reported.
“But it makes one thing clear,” Lynch said of the video. “They saved the lives of that domestic violence victim and her children, and they saved each other’s lives — all because they had the training, skill and courage of New York City police officers.”
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio also praised Officer Murphy and Officer Wells in the wake of the shooting, the New York Daily News reported.
“Today they saved that woman’s life,” de Blasio said at the time. “I want to be crystal clear — because those cops were there, that woman is alive.”
According to police, Rondell had surrendered his firearms after threatening to kill himself during an argument with Sharon in July of 2020, the New York Daily News reported.
His guns were later returned to him after two psychiatrists cleared him to return to his job as a security guard.
Sharon had written a letter to the NYPD supporting Rondell’s weapons being returned to him, and said she didn’t believe her life was in danger, according to the New York Daily News.
The NYPD said they had responded to the Goppy’s home due to domestic violence incidents on numerous occasions in the past.
Watch the incident unfold in the video below. Warning – Graphic Content:
