Police shoot, critically wound man in Brooklyn gunfight
Two NYPD officers shot and wounded a robber who opened fire during a desperate struggle in the vestibule of a Brooklyn Dollar Tree store Tuesday, police said.
The cops were responding to a call by store employees that a man they recognized from a Sunday theft had returned. When the two officers arrived about 4:45 p.m. at the Rockaway Parkway discount store by E. 96th St. in Canarsie, they encountered the 45-year-old suspect in the vestibule, his gun visible in his right pocket, cops said.
He had just stuck up the cashier at gunpoint, and when the cops arrived, he started wrestling with them, then pulled his gun out and fired twice, NYPD Chief of Department Kenneth Corey said.
“There was no argument. They are actually in a physical struggle, a fight for their lives in that moment with a man who has a gun in his hand and is firing,” he said.
One officer returned fire twice, hitting the man in the neck, Corey said. The cops then called for an ambulance, and started giving first aid to the suspect.
Medics took him to Brookdale University Hospital in critical but stable condition.
The suspect tried to disguise himself with a long wig and a white hoodie when he walked into the store, but workers recognized him as the same man who on Sunday morning had reached into a cash register, grabbed some money and ran, police said.
Just before the explosive Tuesday clash, the suspect walked up to a Dollar Tree clerk and said he wanted to buy something, Corey said. When the clerk popped open the register, the man pulled out his gun, pointed it at the startled worker and grabbed some cash before trying to leave, the chief said.
A surveillance photo released by police shows the suspect point his gun at the clerk.
Police recovered the suspect’s gun, a .380-caliber Taurus semiautomatic handgun, at the scene. Cops said it jammed during the struggle.
The two officers were also hospitalized for ringing in their ears, but suffered no apparent injuries, sources said.
The cop who fired twice has 16 years on the job, the other is a six-year veteran, police said. Neither had ever fired their weapon before Tuesday night, police said.
Police have not yet released the suspect’s name, and charges against him were pending.