Police Shoot Armed Suspect Who Opened Fire Outside Queens Hookah Lounge
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Police shot an armed suspect they say opened fire outside a hookah lounge in Queens early Saturday morning.
Authorities say the 38-year-old suspect got into an argument inside RRR Bar & Lounge that spilled onto Liberty Avenue in Ozone Park around 4 a.m. The suspect was stopped by a 32-year-old good Samaritan, who was then shot in the foot after trying to wrestle a 9mm handgun from the suspect.
Plain-clothes officers the NYPD's Anti-Crime Unit happened to be driving in the area, and found the two men still fighting over control of the firearm.
NYPD Chief of Patrol Rodney Harrison says when the suspect refused to put down his weapon, four officers fired three shots, striking the suspect in the torso and arm.
"One of our customers went the check on his girlfriend and next thing you know he's banging on the door to get back in. He told me there was a shooting. Everybody hit the floor. Next thing you know the window is cracked. I don't know. I don't know what happened," a woman working at the Ozone Park bar told CBS2.
NYPD update on the police involved shooting outside of the RRR bar+lounge in Ozone Park. They say it started with a dispute inside that could be gang related. A man stepped in trying to wrestle away the gun when he was shot in the foot. Police shot the suspect 2x. @CBSNewYork pic.twitter.com/iEE4QRXOCc
— Aundrea Cline-Thomas (@AClineThomas) March 9, 2019
Both the good Samaritan and the suspect were taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Officers recovered a handgun as well as a knife at the scene.
Police said Saturday morning they believe the good Samaritan may have saved several lives by stopping the suspect from shooting other people who were leaving the club when he opened fire.
Deputy Inspector Brian Bohannan added that police were recently called to the RRR Bar & Lounge after a man was struck with a bottle. Investigators don't believe the shooting is related.
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According to the NYPD, the Ozone Park establishment has mostly been cited for just noise issues in the past.