The NYPD narcotics detective who sources say was shot twice when he and other officers happened upon a carjacking in Queens Friday may have been hit by friendly fire, Mayor Eric Adams said.
“At this time, it appears it was a friendly fire incident,” Adams said during a press conference following the shooting.
A call about the officer shot, near 22nd Road and the Whitestone Expressway, came in around 9 a.m. The detective was said to have been shot in the leg and the arm.
Law enforcement sources say he was conscious and alert when he was taken into surgery. His injuries are non life-threatening and he is expected to make a full recover, Adams said during the presser.
Not much is known about the officer, but Adams said that he is a 12-year veteran of the NYPD whose wife is expecting a child.
According to the preliminary investigation, an Uber driver was parked just off the service road of the Whitestone Expressway when a man approaches and announces a robbery shortly before 9 a.m., NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. near a Parsons Boulevard gas station. The driver gets out of the vehicle and is allegedly assaulted by the carjacking suspect, before he calls 911 to report the carjacking.
Police say in that case, the suspect stole a man’s car, then realized he didn’t have the key fob, so he got out and attacked the owner. The owner apparently tackled the suspect, suffering some leg and hand injuries in the process, in order to get the keys from the owner.
At this point, officers from the 109 Precinct are responding to the 911 call about the robbery and spot the car, Tisch said. Meanwhile, detectives assigned to the South Queens Narcotics Unit, spot the patrol officers attempting to arrest the alleged carjacker and try to help by blocking the car. Officers end up shooting, and while the suspect is not hit, one South Queens Narcotics officer was struck, Tisch said.
A suspect is in custody, officials say. The 28-year-old suspected carjacker has a history of past arrests involving robbery and assaulting officers. He was on parole for a robbery that took place in March when the incident on Friday took place, Adams said.
“He was literally arrested again and released yesterday with a desk appearance ticket,” Adams said.
Before going out to attempt a carjacking in Queens, he walked out of one of our criminal justice locations.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul also expressed concern.
The shooting comes weeks after the entire NYPD and the larger New York City community mourned officer Didarul Islam, who was off-duty and working security in his uniform at the NFL headquarters building on Park Avenue when a gunman stormed in and opened fire in the lobby. Four victims died. The gunman killed himself.
Jonathan Dienst, Marc Santia, Melissa Colorado and Jennifer Millman
Source link