A day after the funeral of a colleague killed in an ambush last month fueled tensions between the force and the city's mayor and led to another day when thousands of policemen turned their back on New York mayor Bill de Blasio, two NYC policemen were shot and wounded on Monday night, officials said, According to Reuters [9], the officers, part of a plainclothes unit, were shot outside a Chinese restaurant in the Bronx district as they tracked two suspects to an armed robbery, New York Police Commissioner William Bratton told a news conference early on Tuesday.
The officers were transported to St. Barnabas Hospital and were expected to survive. Both were listed in stable condition: one, aged 30, was shot in the arm and lower back. The second man, aged 38, had chest and arm wounds.
A still taken from a video showing police near the scene of a
shooting on Jan. 6. in the Bronx. (Adnan Emil Abdulai)
As WaPo adds [11], the shooting occurred in the Fordham area in the west Bronx at about 10:30 p.m. local time. A 30-year-old officer was shot in the arm and lower back and a 38-year-old officer was shot in the arm and chest.
Meanwhile, the mayor couldn't wait for the soundbite opportunity: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) arrived at the hospital just after midnight Tuesday morning. “This is another indicator of the dangers our officers face in the line of duty,” de Blasio said at an early morning news conference. “Thank God, these officers will recover.”
Further from WaPo, the two officers, whose names have not been released, were among five officers who responded to a call about a robbery at a grocery store on East 180th Street in the Bronx, Police Commissioner William Bratton said. The officers saw two possible suspects who matched the alleged robbers’ description. When the officers identified themselves, one suspect who was inside a Chinese restaurant came outside and starting shooting, Bratton said.
[12]
Both officers were wounded in the exchange. Bratton said one of the suspects may have also been hit. Shortly after the shooting, a man arrived at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in upper Manhattan with a gunshot wound to the back. Detectives are investigating a possible connection to the police shooting.
The suspects fled on foot and carjacked a white Camaro. The vehicle as well as a handgun were later recovered.
[13]
A photo of the recovered firearm used in the incident released
by New York Police Department. (NYPD)
A massive manhunt is taking place for the suspects, described as 25- to 30-year-old Hispanic males, who are still at large. The organization COP SHOT (Citizens Outraged at Police Being Shot) is offering a $10,000 cash reward for information leading to their arrest and conviction.
“This was a rough neighborhood in the 90s and it still is today,” John Cardillo, a former officer who has patrolled the area, told CNN. “Robberies were common when I worked there and there were many shootings. Armed bad guys with the propensity to shoot someone.”
NYPD spokeswoman Kim Y. Royster told the New York Times the officers were not targeted in the attack, which was the case last month when two NYPD officers were shot and killed while sitting in a patrol car in Brooklyn. “This is something that they come upon,” she told the newspaper.
U/D Bronx: Massive search underway for 1 or 2 suspects still on the loose. 1 Possible being hold in NY Presbyterian. pic.twitter.com/GD0I1n4A2s [14]
— NYC Scanner (@NYScanner) January 6, 2015 [15]
Those eager to collect the $10K reward are urged to study the clip below provided by the NYPD.
