NYPD officers shoot man after stolen car chase, gunfight in Bronx
NEW YORK — Police officers shot and critically wounded a man during a gunfight in the woods near Yankee Stadium in the Bronx late Saturday night, authorities said.
The confrontation unfolded at about 11:45 p.m., when officers in the 30th Precinct responded to a 911 call reporting a car break-in near W. 149th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, according to NYPD officials.
While they responded to that call, the officer spotted another vehicle driving recklessly, NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell told reporters early Sunday.
A search revealed the car was stolen, so the officers gave pursuit into the Bronx, Chell said. Two suspects bailed out and one of them, pulled out a gun near W. 161st St. and Summit Ave. and started shooting, Chell said.
The officers returned fire and the man ran off, he said.
About 10 minutes later, a helicopter spotted the man running into the marsh off Exit 5 of the Major Deegan Expressway, police said.
The man exchanged fire with officers again and was shot during the gunfight, Chell said. He didn’t specify how many times the man was hit or where in the body the bullets struck the man.
“Immediately after he was shot, our officers picked up this male physically, brought him up to the side of the highway to render life-saving aid,” Chell said.
None of the officers were injured by gunfire, Chell said.
An NYPD spokesperson said Sunday morning that the 39-year-old man was in critical condition in Lincoln Hospital.
Three officers were hospitalized in stable condition, though it wasn’t immediately clear if they all fired their weapons. It’s not clear if the officers were in uniform or in plain clothes.
Police said they recovered two guns at the scene.
The cops took the second person in the car into custody shortly before the shooting.
Charges against both are pending.
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