Person of interest in Brooklyn off-duty officer shooting now in custody
EAST NEW YORK, Brooklyn (WABC) -- A person of interest was taken into custody after an off-duty NYPD officer was shot and critically wounded during an attempted robbery in Brooklyn over the weekend.
The 38-year-old man, suspected of shooting the 26-year-old off-duty officer, was taken into custody in Rockland County where he was found hiding out in a hotel, according to police sources.
He was taken into custody with the wounded officer's handcuffs and is expected to be returned to the 75th Precinct and charged with attempted murder of the officer.
He has nearly two dozen prior arrests, including for strangulation, grand larceny, aggravated harassment, drug possession and criminal trespass, the sources said. He is believed to be part of a two-man stick-up crew that has been linked to at least three robberies in the area.
One of his prior robberies utilized the Facebook Marketplace scam, according to police sources, like the one involved in the shooting of the off-duty officer, who had answered an ad trying to buy a used car.
Detectives had been watching multiple locations but ended up catching him at the hotel. They also searched the suspected getaway car, a dark-colored BMW with tinted windows, which was recovered ditched in Manhattan.
The incident unfolded Saturday around 7 p.m. when a gunman shot and critically wounded the off-duty officer during an attempted robbery on Ruby Street near Linden Boulevard in East New York.
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Officials say the officer, who is from Deer Park, went with his brother-in-law to buy a car he arranged to pick up through Facebook Marketplace. The suspect immediately announced the robbery and pulled out a gun.
Officials say the off-duty officer also pulled out a gun and shots were exchanged. The off-duty officer was struck in the head.
After the off-duty officer was shot, his brother-in-law picked up his gun and continued firing. The brother-in-law was not struck by gunfire.
It is unclear whether the gunman was also struck by gunfire.
Officials say the off-duty officer is in critical condition at Brookdale Hospital. He has been with the force since 2017, serving the 66th precinct in Borough Park.
"Please keep this young officer in your prayers. He is currently fighting for his life," said Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell.
Detectives were tracing the gunman's arrangement through Facebook.
Officials say they were specifically looking at a robbery of $18,000 on January 13 that took place on the same street that is also believed to be connected to a Facebook marketplace scam.
In Saturday's robbery attempt, the off-duty officer brought $24,000 with him to purchase the car. Officials say there is no information that leads them to believe the suspect knew the victim was an off-duty officer.
One clue in the case, according to sources, came from the dashboard camera of the officer's brother-in-law, which helped identify the suspect's getaway car. The BMW was found in Harlem, not far from the suspect's girlfriend's home. But he wasn't there.
The car was registered to his mom in East New York. He wasn't there either, but right outside her Linden Avenue building at the Pink Houses was a flyer promoting the reward announced Monday morning: $10,000 for information leading to an arrest.
The identity of the officer has not yet been released, but Mayor Eric Adams said he spoke to the officer's wife and children.
"Far too often I've stood at hospitals. On one side, the police commissioner -- on another, the rooms where family members are mourning. And then that same sound -- 'Tell me it's not true. Please tell me it's not true," Adams said.
Adams said the challenge facing the city is clear.
"When we find the guilty person, I bet you he has an extensive criminal record, I bet you he's one of the 1,700 people who are extremely violent in our city," Adams said on a television interview. "And that is why we are pushing for real recidivist reform-to make sure we take dangerous people off our streets. We removed thousands of guns off the street last year. But we have to deal with the dangerous people who have these guns."
Detectives from the NYPD were joined by federal agents on the investigation.
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