Retired Cop Shoots Neighbor Following Dispute, Sources Say
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A 45-year-old man was shot and critically injured in an apparent quarrel with a neighbor in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn Monday, sources tell CBS2.
The suspect -- a retired NYPD officer -- found himself on the other side of the law tonight, confronted by his former department in a standoff that included heavily armed SWAT teams.
Sources say it was a long simmering dispute involving the retired cop's apartment that may have reached a boiling point over a parking spot.
Evidence markers and a pile of clothing lay on the sidewalk outside 185 Greenpoint Ave. where the victim was shot in the head around 2:30 pm, allegedly by 51-year-old retired NYPD officer Gene Barrett.
"I thought it was a tire being blown out and it kind of startled me," neighbor Colleen tells CBS2's Brian Conybeare.
Colleen, who didn't want to share her last name, was on her way to a bike shop across the street when she saw Barrett allegedly inside an apartment waving a gun at a female officer outside.
Suddenly, heavily armed police -- including emergency service officers in an armored vehicle -- descended on the neighborhood. Chopper 2 showed police sharpshooters on nearby rooftops. Some residents were evacuated in the chaos.
Jared Friedman works a few doors down and took several photos as the tense standoff began.
"There was like 20 police officers right in the doorway with guns drawn," he said.
Barrett, who retired from the NYPD in 2002, surrendered after about an hour. Sources say he had an ongoing dispute with the victim and his girlfriend, who is apparently the building's manager.
"He was having problems with his landlord," neighbor Luis Andino said.
Andino says he's known the retired cop for seven years and calls him a nice guy stuck in a nasty feud over his rent stabilized apartment.
"Never in my dreams would I have expected him to take it this far," he said.
The victim was transported to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, where sources say he remains in extremely critical condition. His name has not been released at this time.
Barrett has been charged with attempted murder, robbery, assault, burglary, and menacing.
The investigation is ongoing.