NYPD officer and teen wounded when teen's gun goes off in Bronx, police say
BELMONT, Bronx (WABC) -- An NYPD officer was released from the hospital hours after being struck by the same bullet that passed through a 16-year-old reputed gang member, fired during a scuffle on a problematic Bronx block.
The officer, Kaseem Pennant, was hit in his right leg, below the knee, when the single shot was fired at Lorillard Place and East 187th Street at around 9:30 p.m. last night
Just four hours later, the four-year veteran was wheeled out of St Barnabas Hospital to applause and fist bumps with fellow officers.
The officer was struck during a struggle with a 16-year-old over a gun that suddenly fired. The single bullet hit the teen in the groin before traveling through and striking the officer.
The teen, who is expected to survive, was placed on probation last month for a May 2020 arrest for gun possession -when he was just 14 years old. He was charged as a juvenile delinquent.
He was a member of the same gang crew involved in a string of homicides in the Bronx last summer that claimed three teens - ages 13, 16, and 19, Chief of Detectives James Essig said.
Mayor Adams called last night's shooting a "frustrating" example of teens with guns.
"This individual just was placed on probation for possession of a gun in December. January, he's back in possession of a gun. Something is wrong with that," the mayor said. "He was arrested at 14 years old for being in possession of a gun. At 16 he's arrested again, and this time he discharged a gun. What is it going to take?"
The 2020 arrest involved the same "public safety team," but not the same members, who initiated last nights stop.
The group of six uniformed officers in two unmarked police cars were patrolling when they saw a loud group at "a location known to us problematic block with drugs, gangs and disorderly groups," Essig said.
The officers told the teen to take his hands out of his pockets, he refused, a scuffle ensued, and the shot was fired.
"At no time did any officer fire their weapons," Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. "Tonight is yet another example of how quickly incidents can escalate and how officers risk their lives to keep our city safe."
The teen's gun, a .9 mm Sig Sauer handgun stolen in York County, S.C., in Oct 2020, was recovered, as was the deformed bullet.
Officers rushed both Pennant and the teen to the hospital in their vehicles. Officer Pennant was released from St. Barnabas Hospital sometime after 1 a.m.
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