NEW YORK – Authorities are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspect who fatally shot an NYPD officer after an MTA bus disruption in Queens a day ago, it has been announced authorities on Wednesday.
A person has been taken into custody for questioning in connection with the Wednesday afternoon shooting near 161st Street and Jamaica Avenue, but New York police say they have not yet apprehended the suspected shooter who opened fire on one of their own.
According to the NYPD, the chaos began aboard an MTA bus heading east on Jamaica Avenue around 3:30 p.m. The driver got out to hail two police officers and reported that a man and another passenger were fighting over a seat. Officers approached the bus just as a man ran out the front door, pushing them away, authorities said.
One of the officers was able to catch up to the man and a brief scuffle ensued, authorities said. The man then allegedly fired a shot, hitting the officer near the right hip. The other officer then fired two shots, but it is not known if the suspect was hit. He took off on 161st Street and west on 88th Avenue to a parking lot. He was last seen near Hills Avenue.
New York Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said the man, who has not been identified, should be “considered armed and dangerous”. The gun he used to shoot the officer, a rookie with three months on the job, has not been found.
The officer was taken to hospital for treatment and is expected to recover. He is 22 years old.
“He was where our communities tell us they want their officers to be, standing on a pole,” Sewell said at a news conference shortly after the shooting. “He was arrested by a member of the community who needed help. He was taking police action and then he was shot.”
“Our officers found themselves under gunfire as others ran. That’s what happened today…they put their lives on the line for us,” the mayor said Eric Adams from the hospital where the injured officer was treated.
Anyone with information can call authorities confidentially at 1-888-57-PISTA.
The police take stock.