The NYPD is investigating a police-involved shooting in Jamaica early on Friday morning in which officers shot and killed a suspect who opened fire on them.
According to Chief of Department Terence Monahan, the suspect had been sought for shooting a man in the neighborhood moments about a half-hour earlier.
Monahan, along with other NYPD brass, provided preliminary details of the ongoing investigation during an Aug. 30 press conference.
According to police, the trouble began at around 1:45 a.m. on Aug. 30, when officers from the 103rd Precinct responded to a 911 call about an assault in front of a grocery store on Sutphin Boulevard near Lakewood Avenue.
Upon arriving at the scene, cops found a 26-year-old man with multiple gunshot wounds to his torso. Paramedics rushed him to Jamaica Hospital in critical condition. Monahan reported that the shooting may have stemmed from “an ongoing drug dispute” tied to the bodega and may have been linked “to some violence that occurred a couple of weeks ago.”
“Officers at the scene reviewed surveillance video depicting the suspect and broadcasted a detailed description as well as the direction of flight to canvassing officers,” Monahan added.
About a half-hour into the search, at 2:19 a.m., two plain-clothed members of the 103rd Precinct Anti-Crime Unit spotted a man who fit the suspected shooter’s description in the area of 156th Street and 110th Avenue.
Police said the suspect spotted their vehicle turning around, at which point he allegedly pulled out a gun and fired several shots at them.
“The officers exited their unmarked police vehicle and returned fire, which struck the male in the head,” Monahan said.
Paramedics rushed the suspect to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The officers involved in the shooting were taken to Long Island Jewish Medical Center for an evaluation.
At the scene, authorities said, officers recovered a 9mm handgun that the suspect allegedly fired at the 103rd Precinct cops.
This morning’s police-involved shooting in #Queens demonstrates the work of our brave cops as they go in harm’s way to keep our city safe. Thankfully, the officers weren’t hurt while they engaged a man who opened fire on them during their investigation of an earlier shooting. pic.twitter.com/FtoLW80h8Y
— Chief Terence Monahan (@NYPDChiefofDept) August 30, 2019
The officers’ bodycams were activated prior to the police-involved shooting, according to Monahan.
The ongoing investigation is being headed by the NYPD Force Investigation Division.
