Two police officers were shot and wounded by a man as they made a wellness check to a Queens home on Tuesday afternoon, it was reported. The suspect was apparently shot dead after officers returned fire.
The incident happened at about 12:45 p.m. on Nov. 24 at a home on the dead-end block of 179th Street off 146th Road in Springfield Gardens.
According to sources, police visited the location as part of a follow-up to a previous domestic violence report. Around six minutes after they arrived at the home, already decorated for Christmas, Rondell Goppy, 41, opened fire on them; police then returned fire and shot Goppy dead inside the home, according to the NYPD.
Goppy, a peace officer employed by CUNY, was licensed to carry a firearm and had no prior arrests, according to the police. Tuesday’s visit to the home was not the first time police had responded to domestic calls at the residence, cops said.
Goppy was shot an undetermined number of times by police officers and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police later recovered several weapons belonging to Goppy at the home.
A woman, inside the home at the time of the incident, was not injured.
The officers, who are stationed at the 105h Precinct, are expected to survive. One of the officers suffered a fractured femur and entered the operating room to undergo surgery Tuesday afternoon, according to the NYPD. The second officer was shot in both of his hands and will also require surgery. Both officers were awake and in stable condition at Jamaica Medical Center Tuesday afternoon.
A woman neighbor said she saw an argument outside the home shortly before police became involved. She said the officers then entered the home after the man in the dispute ran inside and then she heard the shots.
Another woman neighbor who wouldn’t be identified cried out, “that’s my neighbor, why did this happen?”
The shootings brought out a massive police presence in Springfield Gardens. FBI agents and the Deputy Commissioner of Counter-Terrorism John Miller were among those present at the scene.
Video on the Citizen app shows a large number of officers racing toward the scene after the shots rang out.
Two Officers Shot @CitizenApp
145-86 179th St 12:48:52 PM EST
Mayor Bill de Blasio joined Police Commissioner Dermot Shea at Jamaica Hospital Tuesday afternoon after being briefed on the shooting.
“Here you have officers who are doing the Lord’s work. They protect survivors of domestic violence,” de Blasio said. “They go into the volatile difficult situations you can possibly imagine. Some of the most difficult work these police officers do. They do it to protect people who have been victims of abuse. Here have a situation when one woman was in danger and these officers went to protect here, only to find themselves in harms way. Thank God they will both pull through.”
Additional reporting by Dean Moses. Updated at 4:28 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020.
