Suspect In Critical Condition After Being Shot By Officer In Brooklyn
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Brooklyn teenager is in custody and being treated for a gunshot wound to the leg after he was shot by an NYPD officer who was responding to a call about a man with a gun.
Sources have identified the suspect as 19-year-old Naeem Graham, who has been arrested 17 times before, including four times for robbery and once for possession of a weapon, CBS2's Magdalena Doris reported.
Police apprehended him Thursday night with what authorities said turned out to be a BB gun.
It happened around 10 p.m. Thursday on Church Avenue near 34th Street in East Flatbush where police said two officers responded to a call of an armed man inside a corner deli.
It's not clear if the incident was a robbery in progress. As police arrived, so did Anastasia Galkowski.
"There were two cops that exited the car. One of them had his gun extended ready to go and it made my stomach drop," she said. "I watched them enter the deli."
The officers followed Graham, who they said ran from the store. When they saw the weapon, police said an officer fired once, hitting him in the leg.
"They ran down 34th Street and 10 seconds later, there was a pop," Galkowski said.
Police said the suspect continued running north on East 34th Street, but was then apprehended.
"A firearm was recovered at the scene, which was later determined to be a BB gun," NYPD Chief of Patrol Terence A. Monahan said.
The suspect was taken to Kings County Hospital.
Police released a photo of the BB gun that they say was recovered at the scene. Neighbors who saw the picture say it would have fooled them.
"It's a real gun to me," one resident said. "If I see something like that, yes, I'm going to say it's a real gun."
Graham was last listed in critical condition. Doris spoke to his mother, who wouldn't provide comment on the incident, but says he is improving.
Charges against him are pending.
