The armed suspect shot and wounded by Bronx police officers on Friday afternoon has been booked on criminal charges, police sources said.
It was the second police-involved shooting in New York City this week, occurring three days after a Queens shootout that left an officer wounded and a career criminal dead.
Chief of Patrol John Chell that in Friday’s shooting, the gunman who took aim at members of the 43rd Precinct, — identified by police sources Sunday as 19-year-old Chase Lackard — had been previously arrested in August on a weapons possession charge in Manhattan, but was released a month after that arrest.
“Our criminal justice system needs to be fixed,” Chell told reporters during a Nov. 22 press conference at the 43rd Precinct stationhouse. “We saw it this week with the three people stabbed by someone on the street. We saw it Tuesday in Queens when our cops confronted a career criminal on lifetime parole, who just committed two robberies that night, fired at people, a citizen gets involved and our officer” is shot in the leg.
“We are very frustrated,” Chell added. “We have to fix this.”
The chief outlined the preliminary details of Friday’s shooting, based largely on a review of surveillance camera footage at the scene as well as the officers’ bodycam video.
The trouble began at about 3:10 p.m. on Nov. 22, when officers from the 43rd Precinct Neighborhood Safety Team responded to a 911 call about a large dispute, with a firearm involved, at 755 White Plains Road in Soundview — an apartment building and shopping complex.
Upon arriving at the scene, two officers inside their patrol car pulled up to a rear gate where the gunman and another perpetrator met them.
“At this time, the perpetrator pulls a weapon, a 9 mm, loaded, and takes a shooting stance at our officers,” Chell said. “They respond and discharge their firearms, striking him twice in the leg.”
Following the shooting, the chief noted, the officers handcuffed the wounded gunman and rendered medical aid. The suspect’s gun was recovered at the scene.
EMS rushed Lackard to a local hospital in stable condition. The two officers involved in the shooting were also medically evaluated.
The other perpetrator fled the location; Chell said officers recovered a knife at the scene, which they believe the suspect possessed.
The NYPD Force Investigation Division, which examines all police-involved shootings, is handling the case, Chell said.
Updated on Nov. 24 at 12:35 p.m.
