2 NYPD sergeants injured in Lower Manhattan shooting, suspect in custody
NEW YORK – Two New York City Police Department sergeants were injured in a shooting in Lower Manhattan Thursday afternoon.
Both are expected to be OK, and a suspect was taken into custody.
NYPD officers injured while responding to report of armed robbery
According to police, officers were sent to the second floor of 91 Canal St. in Chinatown for a report of a man stealing women's purses at gunpoint. Police said the location is believed to be a mahjong parlor where gambling may take place.
When officers arrived on the scene, police said victims told them the suspect had fled north toward Delancey Street.
Seven minutes later, police said canvassing officers spotted a man fitting the description of the suspect on Eldridge Street. Two uniformed sergeants stopped the man and tried to take him into custody, but police said he pulled a loaded firearm out of his pants pocket.
"They had him on top of the car, three of them, and then the guy still has his hand down here, so they put him on the top of the car and then I heard the shots, boom boom," witness Francisco Huayta said.
Police said there was a struggle over the gun and the suspect fired one shot. According to police, the bullet struck one sergeant in the groin, then grazed the second sergeant in the leg.
The suspect was then taken into custody. Police said a loaded .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol was recovered at the scene.
NYPD sergeants expected to make full recovery after shooting
Both sergeants were taken to Bellevue Hospital to be treated and are expected to make a full recovery. NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said both sergeants were awake and in good spirits when he visited them at the hospital.
"Yet again, your officers confronted a violent criminal who had no problem carrying an illegal gun on our streets, and as a result, two of our officers are in the hospital with gunshot wounds, and they're lucky to be alive," Caban said.
Mayor Eric Adams said the sergeants did not fire their weapons at the suspect at any point during the incident.
The officer who suffered a graze wound has been identified as Sgt. Christopher Leap, 34, from Long Island. Police said he is a neighborhood coordination sergeant with the Seventh Precinct who has been with the NYPD for about 11 years.
Leap was released from the hospital around 8:45 p.m. Thursday. A crowd of NYPD officers greeted him outside, cheering and clapping as he left the building in a wheelchair alongside his pregnant wife.
Police said the sergeant who was shot will be held overnight for observation. Police said he is a 43-year-old public safety sergeant with the Fifth Precinct who has been with the NYPD for about 16 years.
Suspect identified as known gang member
Police identified the suspect as 22-year-old Joseph Dorsett, of Lower Manhattan. They said he is a known gang member.
According to police, Dorsett has three prior arrests, with the most recent arrest in 2022 for criminal possession of a controlled substance.
Police said Dorsett is a currently on probation and met with his probation officer Thursday morning.
