A police officer shot an armed man in Brooklyn during a foot chase Friday evening when the suspect turned and pointed a gun in his direction, police said.
Two officers were on patrol in a marked police car in East New York at about 6:50 p.m. when they saw two men inside the Cypress Hills housing complex banging on the vestibule door at 1220 Sutter Ave., police said.
When the officer in the passenger seat got out of the car, one of the men began running, police said. The officer began chasing after the man while the other drove to cut him off.
The suspect turned toward the officer on foot and pointed a semi-automatic handgun in his direction, according to police. That's when the officer fired, striking the suspect in the left buttock.
Anthony Garcia was filling up at a gas station on Sutter Avenue when he heard the gunshot. When he looked over, he said he saw uniformed officers and a man on the ground.
"I heard a boom, one shot, and the guy dropped," said Garcia. "After the shot, there was a whole bunch of screaming. The cops said, 'Get down, get down.'"
Store worker Sammy Aziz said, "It was quick. There was one bullet, and the next thing you know, there was [a lot of] police around."
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The 19-year-old suspect was taken to Brookdale Hospital, where he's in stable condition. He has an open warrant for failure to appear in court on a disorderly conduct charge, police said.
The officer who fired his gun was treated at Jamaica Hospital for tinnitus.
A Millenium Pro 40 caliber semi-automatic handgun was recovered at the scene. Charges against the suspect are pending and investigation is ongoing.
This was the fourth straight day since the New Year that a member of the NYPD has had to fire his own weapon to protect himself. On Thursday alone, three police officers were shot in two different incidents.
Neighbors were discouraged to see so much gun violence so early in the new year.
"It happens too much," said Garcia. "Police got to step up the patrols in this area, in the housing projects. There's too many drugs. That's the problem around this area."
