S.I. SHOOTOUT
Susp slain, cop wounded in home violence bust
A gun-toting suspect in a domestic violence case was shot to death Tuesday morning after blasting away at cops in a wild Staten Island shootout that left one officer with a gunshot wound to her hand.
Gregory Edwards, 39, shrugged off a jolt from an NYPD Taser and squeezed off two shots from his 9-mm. pistol before he was taken down during the 8:45 a.m. confrontation, police said.
A photo from one cop’s body camera clearly shows Edwards, an ex-con with a long rap sheet, clutching the weapon in his right hand during the lethal showdown.
The wounded officer’s partner fired three times, killing the suspect, cops said. Edwards’ weapon, in a bit of good fortune for the cops, appeared to jam after the first two shots, police sources said.
A woman filed a domestic violence complaint against Edwards on Monday night at the 120th Precinct stationhouse — and called the cops Tuesday morning when she spotted the suspect nearby, police said. Officers placed the woman safely inside a vehicle and made their move on Edwards outside a home on Prince St. near Vanderbilt Ave.
The seemingly innocuous call quickly went sideways, with Edwards instantly turning combative and resisting arrest as the officers tried to put him in handcuffs, said NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill. Despite a Taser shot into his back, the dazed suspect pulled a gun as a cop grabbed his hand and forced the muzzle away from the other officers.
“Today we’re reminded once again that no call is routine,” said O’Neill.
The wounded cop, a twoyear veteran assigned to the 120th Precinct, was identified only as a 30-year-old immigrant from Argentina. She underwent surgery on her left hand at Staten Island University Hospital North.
The entire episode was captured on officers’ bodycams, the commissioner said. A 9-mm. pistol, believed to be the gunman’s weapon, was found nearby next to the tire of a parked car.
A former neighbor of the slain gunman’s family was shocked to learn of his violent demise. Viola Smith recounted running into Edwards’ mom last week aboard the Staten Island ferry.
“I asked her how Greg was doing and she said he was all right,” recounted Smith, 61. “And now you’re telling me he was killed? Why would you pull a gun out on the police, knowing what the end result could be? Why would you do that? Why would he do that?”
Smith said Edwards, a father of two, came from a good family with good parents.
“This is crazy,” she said. “I haven’t seen him in a while. It’s hard to believe. Oh my God.”
Mayor de Blasio, who joined O’Neill at Staten Island University Hospital North, spoke glowingly of the wounded cop.
“She is someone who exemplifies the American dream,” said de Blasio. “Her family came here, an immigrant family. She came here as a young girl. I talk to her mom and dad and brother, she always wanted to be a police officer. That was her life’s goal.
“She has applied herself with all her heart to this work protecting others, and it’s quite clear how devoted she is to her work and how extraordinary her story is.”
Edwards had a rap sheet rife with violent crimes and previously served five years in prison for a Staten Island shooting, according to O’Neill.
The suspect’s record dated to 1999, and included repeated arrests in Miami, sources said.
The shooting drew a massive response from heavily armed police officers, who closed off several streets as the investigation unfolded.