Carjacker Killed After Shooting Cop
After going on an early-morning crime spree across Glendale and Woodhaven last Thursday, Jan. 26, a Middle Village man was shot to death by an off-duty police lieutenant during a foot pursuit through the streets of Cypress Hills, it was reported.
Police said Christopher Kissane, 22, of 68th Road was fatally shot in the head by the lieutenant assigned to the NYPD Emergency Services Unit after the suspect opened fire on the officer in the vicinity of Jamaica Avenue and Hemlock Street at around 4:10 a.m. The lieutenant was not injured by the gunshot, but was treated at a local hospital for trauma.
The pursuit reportedly began moments earlier at the corner of Cypress Hills Street and Jamaica Avenue, where Kissane crashed a minivan he allegedly stole from a man in Woodhaven about a half-hour earlier.
Law enforcement sources said the suspect’s shooting ended a rampage that began in Glendale at around 2:45 a.m., when Kissane allegedly robbed a woman at gunpoint on Myrtle Avenue near 71st Street.
Ten minutes later, authorities stated, Kissane tried to carjack a 56- year-old woman as her sedan was stopped at a traffic light at the corner of 74th Street and Cooper Avenue. Reportedly, the suspect displayed a firearm and knocked on the door of the vehicle demanding entry.
Upon being approached by the perpetrator, according to police, the woman sped away inside her vehicle. Kissane reportedly fired a shot, but there were no reported injuries.
About an hour after the attempted carjacking, law enforcement sources stated, Kissane surfaced in Woodhaven and pulled a man out of his minivan at gunpoint at the corner of 80th Street and 90th Road just before 4 a.m.
Kissane then crashed the stolen minivan into a divider and light fixture on Cypress Hills Street near Jamaica Avenue at around 4:10 a.m., police said. Reportedly, the off-duty NYPD lieutenant-who was on his way to work-observed the accident and spotted the suspect fleeing from the damaged the vehicle on foot eastbound along Jamaica Avenue.
Police said the officer followed and ordered Kissane to stop near Hemlock Street. At that point, NYPD sources said, the lieutenant ordered the suspect to stop; in return, Kissane allegedly turned around and fired a shot with a .22-cal. revolver, prompting the lieutenant to return fire.
Members of the 75th Precinct and EMS units responded to the scene. Kissane was brought by paramedics to Brookdale University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
During a preliminary investigation, police recovered the .22-cal. gun used by Kissane and a plastic bag containing 15 bullets.
Law enforcement sources noted that the perpetrator had a prior record which included arrests on charges of narcotics and weapons possession.
The investigation is ongoing, police said.
