NEW YORK — Two NYPD officers were , wounded in a shootout , with a migrant , young on a scooter , they stopped earlier Monday for riding the wrong way down a Queens one- means city, authorities said.
The couple of armed officers — one struck in his , shot- proof vest,  , the other in his knee — are in steady condition at Elmhurst Hospital.
According to Patrick Hendry, chairman of the Police Benevolent Association, the officer who was shot in the coat “was more concerned about his spouse” because he used a tourniquet to stop the officer’s leg from bleeding.
The think, 19- year- ancient Bernardo Raul Castro Mata, was struck in the right hip when at least one officer opened fire, and was taken to New- York Presbyterian Hospital Queens, where he was undergoing surgery. The , gun he allegedly used to shoot the cops , was recovered.
Castro Mata had been staying at a Ditmars Blvd. residence since arriving in the United States illegally from Venezuela via Eagle Pass, Texas, in July. migrant shelter that used to be a Marriott Courtyard, NYPD officials said
Mayor Adams held up the vest worn by one of the officers at a press conference at Elmhurst Hospital and declared,” This is a bullet hole. ” A young police officer is going home because of this vest; senseless act of violence and total disregard for life,” the statement read.
The officers, investigating an area robbery pattern involving thieves on mopeds and scooters, spotted the suspect riding the wrong way on , 82nd St. near 23rd Ave.  , in East Elmhurst about 1: 40 a. m., NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said. The teen jumped off the scooter and fled when they tried to pull him over.
” Our officers began a foot pursuit, which led for several blocks”, Caban said. ” During the pursuit, the suspect fired multiple rounds at our officers, who then returned fire”.
The wounded cops are recovering.
We recently stopped by the officers and their families, according to Caban. ” They’re in good spirits”.
Mata, Kenny said, has no arrests in the city but is a suspect in several Queens robbery patterns. One victim, Kenny said was a woman who was attacked, with her credit card stolen and later used in a smoke shop.
He claimed that the patterns are representative of a larger trend, noting that more than 80 patterns around the city have been linked to more than 80 crimes since June 1. These include shootings, robberies, and phone snatches.
He noted that there were 20 instances of these patterns last year at the same time, but none in 2022.
According to Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, the wounded officers are “very brave and courageous for what they did tonight — what they’ve been doing to keep New Yorkers safe.”
One officer is a five- year veteran, he said. The other has been on the force 2 1/2 years.
Police have recovered 16, 341 guns since the start of the Adams administration — 2, 746 this year.
” Every day New Yorkers are not wearing these”, Adams said, referring to the vest.
The shooting is the first of an NYPD cop since , Officer Jonathan Diller , was killed in March as he tried to pull a gun suspect out of a car in Far Rockaway.
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