A retired police officer police was shot twice in Westchester County Monday afternoon after the cop interrupted a burglary in progress, officials said. The officer's son, also a cop, was able to help nab the suspects.
Retired Greenburgh police officer Peter Schmidt was walking on Payne Street in the Elmsford section of town when he noticed two people leaving a property he knew was unoccupied, according to Greenburgh Police Chief Chris T. McNerney.
The officer, who retired 10 years ago, confronted the apparent burglars and one of the suspects shot the officer in the arm and torso after a brief conversation.
Schmidt's son, an active-duty Greenburgh officer who was not working at the time, heard the shots and ran to the scene and was able to catch the license plate of the blue BMW the suspects fled in and call it in to Greenburgh police, McNerney said.
Minutes later, the two suspects were apprehended by Yonkers police on the Sprain Brook Parkway near the Cross County Parkway, McNerney said. Authorities were searching the roads for an object the suspects may have tossed out the window, sources said.
The retired officer's injuries did not initially appear to be life threatening, according to Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner.
Schmidt's neighbors said he was always working to make sure the neighborhood was safe.
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"He's always around saying hi, checking in, walking up and down the street," said neighbor Jenna Fanelli.
