A would-be carjacker armed with two guns picked the wrong victim to rob at gunpoint in Brooklyn early Wednesday morning, after he was shot by an off-duty police officer, police officials said.
Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison held an impromptu press conference at 5:30 a.m. at the site of the shooting, at East 87th Street and Foster Avenue, across the street from the Brooklyn Terminal Market in Canarsie, Brooklyn.
That’s where the suspect approached the 28-year-old male officer in his white Mercedes Benz and knocked on the window with a firearm, according to Harrison.
“Our member of the service pulled his vehicle away from the suspect and exited the car,” Harrison said. “At this time the suspect fired at least one round, barely missing the officer. The off-duty officer returned fire and struck the suspect in the chest.”
Harrison said the suspect, whose identity was withheld, was taken to Brookdale Hospital in serious condition. Two guns and a knife were recovered at the scene, Harrison said as a detective held up photos of the weapons.
The identity of the officer or his command has not yet been revealed, but officials say the shooting was “justified.” He was not injured in the exchange of gunfire.
Other shooting incidents
Only one other shooting occurred overnight after the previous night saw eight people shot, including one woman killed in a domestic shooting.
The one other shooting occurred at 1:30 a.m. where a 29-year-old man was shot in the back after a dispute in front of 250 West 131st Street in Harlem.
Officers from the 32nd Precinct said the victim was taken to Harlem Hospital in stable condition, but he has been yet “uncooperative with investigators.”
Detectives make shooting arrests
Meanwhile, a 33-year-old Brooklyn man is under arrest for the Oct. 28 shooting death of a 34-year-old man in East New York.
Detectives from the 73rd Precinct and PSA3 arrested Umajestice McKensie, 33, of Wortman Avenue in connection with the murder of Marvin Carroway, 34, of Sutter Avenue. McKensie is also being charged with possession of a loaded firearm.
Officials say that McKensie shot Carroway inside the lobby of 335 Sutter Avenue, the Hughes Houses, a NYCHA development in Brownsville, Brooklyn. The motive for the shooting was not immediately known, but at the time, police believed the shooting to be gang related.
In an unrelated arrest, detectives from the 73rd Precinct arrested a 49-year-old Brooklyn man for the shooting death of his 45-year-old girlfriend in front of her home in Brownsville early Tuesday morning.
Detectives are charging Leroy Worrell, 49, of New Lots Avenue, with the shooting death of Kimberly Grant, 45, 0f Chester Street.
Police say Worrell shot Grant in the chest and groin in front of her home early Tuesday morning after an argument in the street. Police were on the seen in seconds and were able to arrest Worrell nearby after he allegedly tossed the murder weapon under a car on Livonia Avenue near Rockaway Avenue.
Grant later died at Brookdale Hospital from her wounds. Worrell is being charged with murder and possession of a firearm.
Police seek information
The NYPD released video of a man sought in connection with a non-fatal shooting in East Flatbush on Oct. 23.
Detectives from the 67th Precinct say that at 11:20 p.m. a 34-year-old man was shot in the hand after a parking dispute at the intersection of Clarendon Road and Kings Highway in East Flatbush.
The assailant parked and exited a black Audi Q5, pulled a handgun and shot the victim, a 34-year-old male who was a passenger in a four-door sedan. The victim was in stable condition SUNY Downstate Medical Center.
A video of the unidentified assailant shows him inside of a restaurant located at 5814 Clarendon Road, shortly before the incident.
In the second incident, police are seeking the identity of a gunman who shot and killed a 28-year-old man in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn on Nov. 8.
Investigators from the 77th Precinct say at 7:23 p.m. that night, the victim was shot in the torso and leg at the corner of Ralph Avenue and Lincoln Place. Police found the victim lying in front of 578 Ralph Avenue and he was rushed to Brookdale Hospital, but could not be saved.
The victim was identified as Eryk Ford, 28, of Saint John’s Place.
Police provided a video of the alleged assailant near the shooting scene.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident or any of the other shootings is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit tips online at nypdcrimestoppers.com, or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
