Cop-shoot suspect’s retool
Ex-con turned fitness guru after prison, was accused in fights with ma
A Brooklyn gunman accused of wounding two NYPD cops after bashing his mother is a musclebound ex-con who rebranded himself as a community do-gooder fitness guru after his release from prison, the Daily News has learned.
After being paroled for an attempted-assault and robbery conviction, Melvin Butler, 39, changed his name to Gym Star and gave free fitness classes in his Brownsville neighborhood.
On Tuesday, cops were called to a home on Bergen St., where Butler had allegedly assaulted his mother, leaving her with a head injury, police said.
Butler resisted arrest, and a “violent struggle” broke out, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a news conference later that day.
As the officers brawled with Butler on the ground, he grabbed a gun from one of the cops and pulled the trigger, striking one cop in the hand and the other in the thigh, police said.
“He has my gun!” one of the officers was heard yelling on bodyworn camera footage reviewed by the NYPD.
One of the officers returned fire, hitting Butler in the stomach and leg.
He remained hospitalized Wednesday, cops said. Criminal charges were pending against him.
In his postprison life, Butler had begun trying to inspire local children to be “wellness ambassadors.” He also ran a “mobile outreach vehicle” that sold freshly made juice drinks and made a video about it.
His efforts were lauded on News 12 Brooklyn. In that interview, Butler explained he changed his name to Gym Star “after doing 12½ years in prison for a robbery I didn’t commit.”
Police said he’d been arrested for attempted murder in Flatbush, Brooklyn, in 2004 but was ultimately convicted of attempted assault and robbery two years later.
He was released in 2017 and remained on parole until 2020, according to state Department of Corrections records.
Since 2021, cops have been called to his home six times to defuse domestic disputes, police sources said. Many of the fights were with his mother.
Butler was arrested last year for misdemeanor assault connected to a domestic violence incident.
“It’s always an argument between mother and her son,” neighbor Nova Fuller told the Daily News on Tuesday.
Just before the shooting, Butler screamed, ‘”Remember what you said to me yesterday? I am not going back to jail!” Fuller recalled.
Butler was also arrested in February on several motor vehicle violations including running a red light and driving with a suspended license.
That ordeal began after he was spotted in a car outside the home of a woman in violation of an order of protection, police said. As cops approached his car, he drove off and ran a red light, according to court papers.
When cops caught up with Butler, he was unable to produce a valid license, insurance or registration for the car. He was arrested, but not without resisting first, police said.
Still, he insisted he was trying to turn his life around, and the name change was a start.
“Gym” stands for “Great Young Minds,” he told News 12, explaining how he hoped to empower youths in his community through fitness.
“I just knew that I didn’t want to be forgotten,” Butler said when asked why he changed his name. “Something that is so positive that no one would ever forget about me, ever.
“People still slam the door in my face to this day, but I’m still knocking,” he added. “As soon as they open the door, I’m putting my foot in the door.”
The shot cops were taken to Kings County Hospital, where they were treated and released. One of the wounded officers has been with the NYPD for more than nine years and the other has been with the department for 16 years.
“Because of the swift actions of the two police officers who were involved and the responding officers, those officers will be going home,” Mayor Adams said Tuesday.