Burglary suspect who fired at police in Bronx was out on bond

Friday, January 21, 2022

Burglary suspect who fired at police in Bronx was out on bond

Derick Waller reports on the suspect's extensive criminal history.

WAKEFIELD, Bronx (WABC) -- Three NYPD officers have been shot in the first 20 days of 2022, and it was another close call for them Thursday in the Bronx.

Police say a potentially suicidal man fired at them before they shot back.

27-year-old Yoskar Feliz is accused of breaking into his ex-girlfriend's apartment near Bronx Boulevard and 224th Street for a second time.

In the first incident earlier this month he allegedly threatened to kill the woman and himself and raped her, all while her son was home.

He was arrested and released on $50,000 bond before coming back on Thursday.

When police arrived they deployed a Taser, but Feliz got away, they say, by firing at the cops through a back bedroom and escaping out a window.

He ran down to the Bronx River.

"It was at this point the suspect turned toward officers with gun in hand," said NYPD Chief of Department Kenneth Corey. "Three officers then discharged their department-issued firearms at the suspect, striking him in the torso and the arm. The suspect then fled into the Bronx River."

He was pulled from the river and later died at the hospital.

No NYPD officers were hurt in the incident.

Police say in addition to these violent incidents, Feliz was previously accused of robbing a Verizon store at gunpoint.

And in that case, it was the ex-girlfriend who bailed him out then.

This is just the latest in a string of violent incidents that Bronx D.A. Darcel Clark says are getting worse.

Earlier Thursday morning an NYPD detective was shot while executing a narcotics search warrant on Staten Island. Police returned fire and 39-year-old Nelson Pizarro was struck in the leg.

On Tuesday night, an NYPD officer was struck by the same bullet that passed through a 16-year-old reputed gang member, fired during a scuffle on a problematic Bronx block.

"We're in a bad place," Clark said. "It's bad. I can't say, 'Well, you know, it's not as bad as everybody says.' It's bad, okay? People are dying. There was a time that you would never think things like this will happen. And it's happening all the time now."

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