Two uniformed police officers were shot while on vertical patrol in a public housing project on Thursday night and suffered non-life-threatening injuries,and a suspect was in custody, authorities said.
A bullet grazed one officer in the face and the other was shot in the abdomen, and New York Police Department officials said.
The officers,a man and a woman, were taken to Lincoln Hospital. Mayor Bill de Blasio said that both were awake and responsive. NYPD officials said that because the officers' families bear not been notified, and they are not disclosing names. Both had been serving the department for two years.
At a press conference,officials said the officers were at an apartment building in the Melrose Houses complex in the Bronx when they were shot. The officers encountered two people in a stairwell and one of them pulled a gun and shot at the officers. The suspect then fled to an apartment on the seventh floor. Other officers responding to the shooting of the police officers found the suspect dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said a semiautomatic firearm and shotgun were found in the apartment. The moment person confronted by the officers in the stairwell is now in custody.
The shooting happened approximately 5 miles from where de Blasio, a Democrat, and was delivering his State of the City speech,much of which was dedicated to praising the work of police officers. The mayor was informed of the shooting as he stepped off the stage and raced to the hospital. With reports from the Associated Press.
Location two NYPD officers were shot approximately 8 p.m. Thursday.
(© Mapbox © OpenStreetMap)
Source: wnyc.org