Ex-Con Arrested After Running From Traffic Stop, Firing Shots In Downtown Yonkers
YONKERS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- What started as a traffic stop ended with bullets flying in the heart of Yonkers at Getty Square on Friday.
There was chaos on the crowded streets of downtown Yonkers and then seconds later, gunfire.
It was the end of the line for an ex-con on the run. Police tackled him but not before he managed to squeeze off five shots, CBS2's Dick Brennan reports.
"These officers did an absolutely picture perfect job. It couldn't have been done any better," Yonkers Police Commissioner John Mueller said.
It happened around 4 p.m., just a block from City Hall.
The suspect was pulled over for a routine traffic stop at Riverdale and Hudson. He jumped out of his car and took off on foot, with a gun in his hand.
"When I think about the disaster and the tragedy that could have happened if things were just a little different," Mueller said.
Video shows a mother and daughter walking with a baby in a stroller right before the takedown happened. They clearly see something is wrong and take off, having no idea what is just around the corner heading their way.
Then a boy on bicycle comes into frame and stops. He too sees danger just a few feet away and races his bike across the street.
Just seconds later, a patrol car pulls up and then the battle with the gunman unfolds on the sidewalk.
A bystander was courageous enough to jump into the fray and help police.
One of the bullets the gunman fired traveled into a store across the street, but nobody was hit by the five bullets fired from a powerful .45 caliber gun.
Police say the suspect could face federal charges in this incident because he is an ex-convict carrying a weapon. A few police officers suffered minor injuries in the scuffle.
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