Suspect in custody after undercover Suffolk County police officer shot in Coram
CORAM, N.Y. -- A suspect is in custody after the shooting of an undercover Suffolk County police officer in Coram on Thursday.
Police said it happened just before 1 p.m. after a robbery suspect noticed officers conducting surveillance outside of his home on Norfleet Lane and ran out.
"One officer exited his vehicle and starts pursuing our suspect on foot. The officer, who was in plainclothes, identified himself and demanded and ordered our suspect to stop. The suspect did not comply and at some point that man ultimately fired two rounds. The officer was hit in his upper right thigh," said Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison.
The officer was in stable condition after undergoing surgery at Stony Brook University Hospital. He is expected to recover. Officials said his colleagues applied two tourniquets just in time to stop the bleeding.
"All of us who aren't in law enforcement go about our lives each and every day and we don't see 99 percent of the work that is happening out there by these police officers. They are literally putting themselves in danger," said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone.
The Longwood Schools Superintendent put three schools on lockdown while police were searching for the suspect, police said.
"I heard the shots and came outside and walked to the corner. By the time I came out, the police cars were speeding up past the corner and they had one officer in the back of the car, and he was, I guess, unconscious," a neighbor said.
"Police officers here kind of handle things not as forceful. So this is a new incident for me to understand, to kind of wrap my head around," another neighbor said.
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Police say after a 20-minute standoff, officers were able to arrest the suspect -- 20-year-old Jannell Funderburke, a Bloods gang member who was wanted for a robbery two days ago. He will now also be charged with attempted murder.
"That person is off the streets because of these officers," Bellone said.
Police say the injured officer is engaged to be married and has a 17-month-old daughter. The life-saving measures that his colleagues took, police say, were learned in the police academy.
It is not clear when the officer will be released.