NEW YORK – Two NYPD officers were shot overnight in East Elmhurst, Queens, while investigating a robbery involving suspects on scooters, police say.
Police said the officers returned fire, shooting the suspect in the ankle. Both the officers and the suspect were taken to hospital in stable condition.
Mayor Eric Adams and Police Chief Edward Caban spoke with the injured officers and their families early Monday at Elmhurst Hospital.
The mayor held up a police vest with a bullet hole and said it had saved an officer’s life. He called the shooting a “senseless act of violence” and a “total disregard for life.”
Which led to the police shooting in Queens
N.Y.P.D
The shooting happened around 1:40 a.m. Monday at the intersection of 89th Street and 23rd Avenue.
Caban said officers were investigating a pattern of robberies involving suspects on mopeds and scooters.
“They observed a male suspect driving a moped the wrong way on 82nd Street near 23rd Avenue and attempted to pull him over. The suspect then fled on foot and our officers initiated a foot chase that lasted several blocks Caban said. “During the pursuit, the suspect fired multiple shots at our officers, who then returned fire.”
One officer was shot in the front of his bulletproof vest and the other in the leg, Caban said. Both officers were taken to Elmhurst Hospital in stable condition.
“We visited the officers and their families a few moments ago, they are in good spirits and the NYPD stands ready to assist them in their full recovery,” Caban said.
The officers are assigned to the 115th Precinct of the Public Safety Unit. One has worked for the department for five years, the other for 2.5 years.
Increase in robberies of mopeds and scooters
The 19-year-old suspect was shot in the right ankle, police said. He is undergoing surgery at New York Presbyterian-Queens and is expected to survive his injuries.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said the suspect has not previously been arrested in New York City but is wanted in several robberies in Queens. Kenny said he entered the country illegally from Venezuela last summer and lives at the Landing Families Shelter on Ditmars Boulevard.
“The patterns we are currently looking at in Queens involving him involve phone clips and cases where a woman was assaulted, had her credit card stolen and ultimately used at a smoke shop in Queens,” Kenny said.
Researchers say robbery patterns involving scooters have increased from 20 between Jan. 1 and June 1 in 2023 to more than 80 so far this year.
“That’s over 80 robbery patterns alone spanning hundreds and hundreds of incidents,” Kenny said.
Police said they also found a gun at the scene that was “not legally owned.”
CBS New York did that live team reporting from the scene and from the hospital for the latest updates on this developing story.
