Off-duty officer shoots 42-year-old man during dispute inside Bronx furniture store
WILLIAMSBRIDGE, Bronx (WABC) -- An off-duty police officer shot a man in the arm during a dispute inside a furniture store in the Bronx on Thursday, but what isn't clear yet is why.
There was panic and chaos on White Plains Road in the Wakefield section of the Bronx after gunfire erupted around 3 p.m.
An off-duty NYPD officer fired a single round at a man inside a furniture store at the location. Witnesses say that right before being shot, the 42-year-old man appeared so drunk that he had trouble standing straight.
"He was rocking plenty. Rocking plenty, rocking plenty," witness Ryan Willis said. "And by the smell. You know when a person was drinking. By the smell."
Police say the man said something to the officer inside the furniture store that may have made him draw his weapon, but the argument continued to escalate.
"During the dispute, the off-duty police officer discharged his weapon one time, striking the male once in the left arm and subject subsequently grazing the male's chest," said Benjamin Gurley, NYPD Assistant Chief Commanding Officer of Patrol Borough Bronx.
That 42-year-old man suffered a non-life-threatening injury and was taken to Jacobi Medical Center, but investigators say after that, things get murky.
There are questions about how the officer's weapon went off, was there a struggle and did the officer feel his safety was at risk.
There were other customers in the store at the time, and investigators have gotten conflicting versions of what exactly happened.
There are security cameras inside and detectives are hoping it has answers.
Residents meanwhile are not sure what to think.
"It's a little worrying that stuff like has to happen around the area and that we don't really know what actually happened," resident Daelmi said.
"We want to hear both sides of the story," resident Jameel Assabuur said. "So the police officers will tell their side of the story and the victim tells their side of the story, then we can draw our own conclusions."
The officer is 30 years old and just graduated from the academy. He is stationed in the Bronx.
It's unclear what he was doing in the store, and if the officer and man who was shot knew each other.
The investigation is ongoing.
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