Retired Greenburgh Cop Released From Hospital Day After Being Shot
GREENBURGH, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A retired Greenburgh police officer was recovering at home Tuesday, a day after being shot while thwarting an apparent burglary.
Peter Schmidt, who was shot once in the arm and once in the torso, was released Tuesday from Westchester County Medical Center in Valhalla, police said.
Taqiy Walton, 34, and Adam Larregue, 20, both of Elmsford, have each been charged with second-degree attempted murder. They appeared in Greenburgh Town Court on Tuesday afternoon.
Around 3:45 p.m. Monday, Schmidt spotted two men behind a neighbor's home in Elmsford that he knew was not occupied, police said. The retired officer confronted the men and one opened fire, cops said.
Schmidt's son, active Greenburgh police Officer Peter Schmidt Jr., who was off-duty, ran to the scene and reportedly saw the suspects leaving the scene in a blue BMW. He relayed the car's license plate number to Greenburgh police, and within minutes, Yonkers police had stopped the vehicle on the Sprain Brook Parkway in the area of the Cross County Parkway and arrested the suspects.
Police did not recover a gun.
Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner told WCBS 880's Sean Adams that Schmidt Sr. is "the type of person you would think would come to your aid if you ever need somebody to help out, and it shows, even though he was retired, he still put the public first."
As CBS2's Meg Baker reported, Schmidt Jr. stood with fellow officers after the arraignment of the two men accused of shooting his father.
Larregue faces charges of attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
Walton has been identified as the alleged shooter, hitting Schmidt Sr. in the right forearm and right torso.
"Defendant Walton has two prior felony arrests, two prior felony convictions, one for reckless endangerment in the first degree, and a violent felony of assault second degree," police chief Chris McNerney said.
Officers at the Greenburgh Police Station commended Schmidt Sr. for his heroism. He was mowing his lawn at the time of the incident when instinct set in that something was wrong.
Schmidt Sr. was released from Westchester Medical and is now at home recovering with his family.