MTA officers shoot, kill man during arrest for allegedly groping woman near Jamaica Station
NEW YORK -- MTA Police officers shot and killed an armed suspect who they said opened fire when they were arresting him for allegedly groping a woman Friday night in Queens.
Police said they were trying to stop the 52-year-old man near Jamaica Station when he repeatedly ignored their commands and reached toward his waistband. An exchange of gunfire followed.
Police said they later found a sub-machine gun with a 30-round clip on him.
It started at around 10:15 p.m. when a 19-year-old woman went to the District 3 command and complained the man forcibly touched her chest and blocked her path on the sidewalk.
"She took a picture of him and asked the police officers to make an arrest. She gave a detailed statement. The officers went out approximately two minutes after she came into the district. They found the male. The male had a very distinctive jacket on," said MTA Chief of Police John Mueller.
Police said they stopped the man near 91st Avenue and Sutphin Boulevard, and even showed him the photo the woman took of him. The man refused to put his hands behind his back when officers placed him under arrest, police said.
"They tase him, and at some point during the struggle, a shot is fired from the perpetrator," said Mueller.
As the officers stepped back, officials say they saw the suspect's MAC-10, along with a 30-round extended magazine. They returned fire, striking the suspect in the head and elsewhere on his body, killing him.
"It's really shocking, really shocking," one Queens resident said.
"It's good for us that at least we go over there, we complain and they come out. Usually they don't have time," another Queens resident said.
The officers were not hurt, but taken to the hospital to be treated for trauma.
According to the MTA, the man had at least 12 prior arrests and was out on parole for a gun charge. Part of the ensuing investigation will focus on figuring out how he got the weapon.
Investigators say this was the third deadly shooting by MTA officers in the department's 26-year history.