The violent exchange of gunfire erupted in the courtyard of a Miami hotel, where /*Detective Harold Thomas*/ was staying while on vacation with several fellow officers.
He was shot once in the leg.
"He was the victim of an attempted robbery. Thank heavens he had his weapon with him so he could defend himself," Michael Palladino said.
Palladino, president of the NYPD Detectives Endowment Association, is in contact with police in /*Miami*/ and following leads that are now coming in on the incident that occurred around 7:00 Saturday morning.
Hotel guests say they heard a rapid succession of shots.
"I heard the first two, then after that it was like non-stop. I know it was at least 10 or 12," one guest said.
That guest looked into the courtyard after the shooting stopped and saw Detective Thomas wounded in the leg and down on the ground.
Thomas was rushed to this hospital where he was put into an induced coma.
"He had a third operation. He is listed in critical condition but stable. And we have seen some improvement in his condition since last night, so that's encouraging," Palladino said.
Police in Miami are looking for one suspect and apparently have found another who showed up at a hospital with gunshot wounds.
"There has been a DNA comparison and a link between that individual and blood that was found at the scene," Palladino said.
We understand that members of Detective Thomas' family have flown to MIAMI and are at his bedside.
