NYPD officer, 2 bystanders shot on Brooklyn subway platform when police fire on armed suspect, authorities say
NEW YORK -- An NYPD officer and two bystanders were wounded when police opened fire on a man armed with a knife at an L train subway station in Brooklyn, authorities said.
Police said the gunfire was reported just after 3 p.m. Sunday at the Sutter Avenue station in Brownsville.
Four people -- one police officer, two civilians and the suspect -- were hospitalized, according to the FDNY. Interim Police Commissioner Tom Donlon said the wounded officer, who was shot in the chest area below his left armpit, is at Brookdale Hospital and "is in good spirits and is expected to make a full recovery."
Donlon, along with Mayor Eric Adams, MTA CEO Janno Lieber and other top brass of the NYPD, addressed reporters at a news conference on Sunday evening.
"Make no mistake, the events that occurred on the Sutter Avenue station platform were the results of an armed perpetrator, who was confronted by officers doing the job we asked them to do," Donlon said. "There will be a full and thorough investigation conducted into this incident, as we always do in cases like this. But right now we are grateful that our officer will be OK."
The suspect, who officials said has more than 20 prior arrests and a significant history of mental illness, was shot multiple times. A 49-year-old man was also struck in the head and was listed in critical condition at Kings County Hospital and a 26-year-old woman was grazed and was being treated at Brookdale Hospital, police said.
"It started because somebody wanted to come to the transit system with a weapon, somebody who, as the mayor said, had a history of crime and a history of violence and even gun charges," Lieber said.
Drivers were being advised to avoid the area, and L trains were temporarily suspended between Broadway Junction and Canarsie-Rockaway Parkway.
Here's what the NYPD says happened
NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said he reviewed body-worn cameras and then walked reporters through the timeline of events.
He said two officers assigned to the 73rd Precinct saw a man walk into the station and go through the gate without paying his fare. The officers then followed the suspect up three flights to the platform and asked him to stop, but he refused.
"At a certain point on the platform the male mutters the words 'I'm going to kill you if you don't stop following me,'" Maddrey said. "The officers are able to catch up to him. The male turns around. He confronts the officers. The officers are asking him to take his hands out of his pockets. They become aware that he has a knife in his pocket. They give numerous commands. The male basically challenges the officers, 'No, you're going to have to shoot me.'"
Maddrey says as that was happening a northbound train pulled into the station and one of its doors opened and the suspect jumped onto the train, followed by the officers.
"They again gave him numerous commands to put his hands down and come with them," Maddrey said. "One officer deploys his Taser. The Taser was ineffective. The second officer deploys his Taser. The Taser is ineffective. The male jumps back off of the train and onto the platform. At one point he is advancing on one of the officers with his knife. The officer stands back, he draws his weapon, and both officers at this point fire."
The officers fired multiple rounds, Maddrey said, and the suspect went down and was quickly handcuffed and subdued.
"While they are subduing him, one of the officers realizes he's hit as well," Maddrey said. "The officer who was hit didn't stop. He continued to do his duty. He helped his partner put the man in handcuffs. They searched him and when they saw where the man was wounded, they started performing life-saving measures. by applying pressure to his wound, while this officer is also bleeding from his chest area."
Maddrey said while the officers were taking down the suspect they realized that other people were hit by gunfire as well. He said additional officers arrived on the scene and quickly gave aid to the wounded officer, the suspect and the two civilians.
"[The suspect] decided he wasn't going to go nicely with the officers and the officers were put in a very difficult situation to save themselves," Maddrey added.
Maddrey, who said the shooting will be investigated further by the Detective Squad and Force Investigation Division, was asked if the officer and civilians were wounded by friendly fire.
"I don't like to use that term friendly fire, but, absolutely, we believe at this time that our officers, our officers, were the only ones who discharged weapons at this time. I don't know if that'll change. So everyone that was struck this afternoon, we believe, was by our officers," Maddrey said.
In addition to police body cameras, the MTA said cameras on the platform and mezzanine will assist in the investigation.
Anyone with any information about the shooting is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.