NYPD officers responding to a burglary in progress call in the Bronx Thursday afternoon shot and killed an armed suspect after pursuing him into a nearby park, police said.
The initial call about the robbery on Bronx Boulevard in Wakefield came in around 1:30 p.m., police said, when a woman returned home and saw the suspect inside, armed and unwilling to leave. Officers were at the scene within minutes, and encountered a man with a gun inside the apartment.
The man refused to drop the handgun he had, after multiple requests to do so, and an officer used a stun gun on him. The armed suspect did not go down however, and ran into a bedroom, where he fired off two shots before escaping out a window, according to police.
From there other officers then ran after the man, who still had a gun in his hands, into a nearby park next to the Bronx River. Police said at a press conference that officers once again demanded the suspect drop his weapon, but instead the man pointed the gun at officers.
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Three cops opened fire, hitting him twice, once in the abdomen and once in the arm, police said. He then jumped into the river, but police were able to get him out and give him aid.
The suspect was rushed to Jacobi Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Other officers were taken to the hospital as well, but that was believed to be a precautionary measure. A senior official said no police officers were seriously hurt.
The firearm the suspect had was recovered from the water. Another gun, a loaded .9-mm pistol, was found inside the first-floor apartment.
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The suspect was identified as 27-year-old Yoskar Feliz, who has three prior arrests, including two felonies. His latest run in with police came on Jan. 13, when he entered through a victim's wind and sexually assaulted her. He was released on bail for that offense.
An investigation is ongoing.
