Off-Duty NYPD Officer Released From Hospital, Expected To Make Full Recovery After Harlem Shooting
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An off-duty NYPD officer has been released from the hospital after being shot in Harlem on Saturday.
He is the seventh officer to be shot this year, but police do not believe he was the intended target, CBS2's Kiran Dhillon reported Sunday.
"When is enough going to be enough, community? When we going to put these guns down?" said Robert Rice, the NYPD's community affairs liaison.
Outside the Manhattanville Houses in Harlem, where the 47-year-old off-duty NYPD officer was shot, fellow officers and clergymen gathered Sunday to condemn the violence.
"We stand with you. We want you to know we don't want you to be afraid to be shot by a stray bullet," Chaplin Rice said.
Saturday's shooting happened at around 4:30 p.m. at 3250 Broadway. An off-duty cop, who is from the neighborhood and is a 16-year veteran of the force, was attending a memorial for a prominent community member. As he was leaving the lobby of the community center, he came across two men who were involved in a shooting.
The officer dove for cover, but was shot in the foot.
"It's scary. It's scary," Maria Lora said.
People who live in the houses said officers quickly responded. Lora had to be escorted out of her building.
"I had to wait to leave my building was insane," Lora said. "I had to call out to work and then to come back around and go inside and be asked for ID, it's another scary moment."
Sources told CBS2 the shooting may be connected to a dispute that took place between two groups a few hours earlier. Later, the groups crossed again and at least two people opened fire. The suspects then ran off.
As for the off-duty cop, police say he never fired his weapon.
The violence is unsettling for residents.
"New York, in general, is pitiful with the gun violence ayway. It's crazy out here with the gun violence," Dwayne Jones said.
The wounded officer is assigned to the Housing Bureau in the Bronx. He was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital, where Chaplin Rice met with him.
"He was a little upset that that happened to him, but once we got there he felt comfortable with the clergy. He was happy to see clergy and we prayed with him," Rice said.
The officer has since been released from the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.
No arrests have been made and suspect information has not been released.
Anyone with any information 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.
CBS2's Kiran Dhillon and Christina Fan contributed to this report.
