New York drivers are infamous for honking and swearing at one another in the Big Apple’s congested streets, but two brothers accused of blocking a side street with their van are in jail this week after allegedly attacking an off-duty officer and wrestling for his gun, resulting in gunshot wounds to one of them and to the officer.
After one of the brothers allegedly smashed his rear window near the intersection of Queens Boulevard and 70th Street in Queens, the unidentified 26-year-old officer called 911 with one hand and drew his handgun with the other, holding the suspects at bay and telling them they were being arrested.
However, by the time responding officers arrived, the officer had been shot through the leg, one of the attackers shot in the hand, and the other had run off yelling, video shows.
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WATCH: Off-duty NYPD officer shot in road rage fight caught on video
A few minutes before the fight, the off-duty officer found a white van blocking the eastbound service road alongside Queens Boulevard, resulting in a brief argument before he squeezed around it and moved on, according to police.
However, the driver followed the officer to the next stoplight and resumed the argument as his brother, the passenger, allegedly hopped out and punched through the officer’s rear windshield, NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said during a news briefing.
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Police officers and paramedics respond to the scene of a possible road rage shooting in Queens, New York, on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. An off-duty NYPD officer was shot in the leg and one of the suspects was shot in the hand after a scuffle ensued. Police arrested 32-year-old Edwin Rivera at the scene and his brother, Shawn, at a hospital nearby. (Peter Gerber)
“At that point the off-duty MOS (member of service) exited his vehicle, identified himself as a police officer and drew his firearm on the two males and announced that the male was under arrest for breaking his window,” Maddrey said. “Our off-duty member is trying to call, he’s calling 911 as he’s holding the two males at gunpoint.”
The video shows the officer with his phone to his ear with one hand and a handgun in the other, keeping a safe distance from the men and trying to stay in control of the situation as they shout back and forth.
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“Get on the ground,” the officer can be heard telling two men in grainy eyewitness video. “I’m a police officer.”
One of the suspects allegedly smashed the officer’s rear window after an argument. (Peter Gerber)
“That don’t mean nothing,” one of the men replied.
“I’m tougher than you,” a suspect barks at one point.
The officer reholsters his weapon, but tensions rise, and the brothers attack him, video shows, with one man holding the officer in a chokehold as both men allegedly punched him, Maddrey said. A bystander can be heard trying to dissuade them from fighting.
“Hold him til the cops come,” one says.
The suspects initially got into an argument with an off-duty NYPD officer when police say they were blocking a service road in Queens with their white van. (Peter Gerber)
“We didn’t do nothing,” the other adds.
The trio wrestle to the ground – then a gunshot goes off, followed by another a few seconds later. Maddrey said that one of the suspects tried to grab the weapon and the officer fought to keep control of it as all three men fell to the ground, with the suspects on top. One ran off after the first discharge. The other continued to fight.
“At this point, the male is on top of our officer, and our officer is laying motionless,” Maddrey said.
One shot struck the officer. The other hit 32-year-old Edwin Rivera.
“He shot my brother,” a man can be heard crying out repeatedly, presumed to be 27-year-old Shawn Rivera, who walked into another hospital with hand injuries and was arrested there, Maddrey said.
Uniformed police rush into view a few seconds later.
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The officer and the elder Rivera brother were hospitalized and in stable condition, according to authorities.
The Rivera brothers, both New York City residents, each have prior criminal records, police said.
