Ex-con firing weapon shot by cops in B’klyn

An NYPD officer shot and critically wounded an ex-con released on parole just five days ago during a fierce gun battle in a public housing project in Brooklyn Tuesday night, cops said.

The shooting took place just before 8 p.m. at the Gowanus Houses, on Baltic Ave. near Hoyt St.

According to authorities, two anti-crime unit officers with the 76th Precinct first spotted the gunman opening fire at someone, and confronted him.

The officers, who were patrolling the area in plainclothes, got out of their unmarked car and identified themselves as cops, NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan said.

“The officers immediately identified themselves as police and gave multiple orders to drop the weapon,” Monahan said.

The gunman and the officers then exchanged fire, with the the 30-year-old shooter struck several times in the hail of bullets, sources said.

Police recovered his gun, a 9-mm. semiautomatic Taurus (photo), from underneath him, Monahan said.

Medics took the man to Brooklyn Hospital in critical condition; he was identified by a family member as Nasheem Prioleau.

The two officers went to Methodist Hospital for evaluation, but an NYPD spokeswoman said they were unharmed.

It’s not clear if Prioleau actually hit his intended target before police arrived, the spokeswoman said.

Police sources said the gunman is a known Bloods member who goes by the street name “Trigger,” and was involved in four other shootings in the 76th Precinct alone.

Family members at the hospital confirmed that he had been released from prison days ago.

Prioleau was released to parole on Oct. 10, after his conviction in 2014 on attempted robbery charges, public records show. He also served time for attempted weapons possession in 2008 and attempted assault in 2011, records show.

But on Tuesday, his friends in the neighborhood defended him, calling Prioleau a “nice guy” and a family man with two young children.

“He’s in surgery right now,. He was shot five times in the chest,” said Shanduke McPhatter. “He is a good guy. His mother is hysterical. She works in the community. I watched him grow up. The family helps the community. They mediate conflicts.”

McPhatter added, “Why was it necessary for so many shots, yes he had a weapon on him but the number of shots seems excessive.”