A ballistic test shows that one of the two officers shot while confronting a suspect in Brooklyn was hit by a bullet fired by the man and not by "friendly fire," a police source said Sunday.
Two officers were shot while confronting a gunman who pointed his revolver at police then fled and slammed his car into a police vehicle, according to Police Commissioner William Bratton. Multiple officers then fired at the armed driver.
At least 25 shots were fired during the confrontation, according to police sources.
One of the two injured officers, William Reddin, a nine-year NYPD veteran with one child and another on the way, was shot in his right hip.
The other officer, Andrew Yurkiw, who has been with the force for three years, was injured by the bullet striking his protective vest.
The slug that struck Yurkiw's vest was a .357 caliber bullet fired by the suspect, the ballistic test showed.
Police are still awaiting the results of tests from the bullet that struck Reddin.
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Investigators are looking into the possibility that both officers were hit by friendly fire because police had confronted the gunman from different directions, a police official told NBC 4 New York.
The suspect, 34-year-old Jamal Funes, was taken to Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center and remains in critical condition.
The incident began at about 3:20 a.m. Saturday when two housing officers heard a gunshot near Malcolm X Boulevard and Quincy Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Funes pointed a gun at them, then fled in a vehicle, according to police.
Numerous units responded to the uniformed officers' call for help. One unit's patrol car was rammed by Fune's vehicle as he attempted to flee.
Funes, who remained in his vehicle throughout the confrontation, was shot several times, police said.
Police recovered a .357 magnum from the front seat of Fune's vehicle, officials said. Five rounds from the weapon had been fired, investigators said.
There was no indication that Funes, who had previously used the name Frederick Funes, had obtained a lawyer who could comment on his behalf.
Funes has had numerous run-ins with the law, including arrests for robbery, menacing and weapons possession, investigators said.
The incident marked the second time this month that NYPD officers were shot on duty. Officers Diara Cruz and Patrick Espeut were shot and wounded on patrol in a public housing stairwell by a gunman who killed himself soon after, police said.
Last month, Officer Sherrod Stuart was wounded in the ankle in what police later determined was a friendly-fire shooting as another officer exchanged gunfire with a suspect in a Bronx street brawl.
