Police: Off-Duty Cop Responding To Craigslist Ad Kills Armed Robbery Suspect In Queens
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An off-duty officer who thought he was coming to Queens to buy a car shot and killed an armed robbery suspect after he and another man tried to rob the officer at gunpoint, according to police.
It happened around 10:35 p.m. Monday in Springfield Gardens.
Police said the off-duty officer came to 145th Avenue near Guy R. Brewer Boulevard to check out a used, white BMW that was listed on Craigslist.
When the officer arrived, police said two men exited the BMW. That's when one of them pulled out a gun and forcibly took the cop's wallet, police said. The officer then drew his gun and fired at the armed suspect, hitting him in the torso and leg, police said.
Nearby residents heard the shots.
"I was laying in bed, watching TV, and I heard a total of five to six gunshots, loud gunshots, and about five minutes later, I heard sirens and helicopters and I knew it was something serious," one neighbor said.
Yohan Reid said he had just gotten home and said one bullet hit his parked van.
"When I go across the road, I saw the guy laying on his belly and after I was walking over to see what was going on and the guy, the officer, tells me to step back because he got a gun so I come back across the road," he told CBS2's Diane Macedo.
The suspect, identified as 30-year-old Devon Holder, was taken to the hospital where he later died, police said.
Police said Holder had 11 prior arrests including; assault, larceny, burglary, and attempted arson.
The other suspect took off in the BMW and got away with the officer's wallet. Police said a black air pistol was recovered at the scene.
Residents were not happy to hear that the second suspect was still on the loose.
"They haven't found him yet? Oh no, oh no, that's scary, that's scary," Robyn Pough said.
Investigators believe the ad for the car was a scam.
The officer was taken to the hospital for treatment and observation.
Last month, an undercover officer shot a suspect in another Craigslist robbery in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
