At approximately 3:20 a.m. this morning, during the apprehension of an armed suspect in Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, two police officers, assigned to the 81 Precinct anti- crime team, were struck by gunfire.
The incident began when two uniformed housing police officers, from PSA 3, heard a shot fired near the intersection of Quincy Street and Malcolm X Boulevard in the confines of the 81 Precinct. As they approached the suspect, he pointed a revolver at them and fled in a vehicle. The officers began to follow the vehicle and radioed for assistance.
Officers from the 81, 83, and PSA 3 commands responded to the call for assistance. At the corner of Lexington Ave and Malcolm X Boulevard, the suspect, traveling the wrong way, rammed a responding marked patrol car from the 83 Precinct. Officers then engaged the armed suspect.
The officers fired at the suspect, striking him several times. A .357 revolver was recovered from the front seat of the car with five spent shell casings.
During the engagement, the two police officers were struck by gunfire. One of the officers was struck in his protective vest in the area of his chest. The bullet did not penetrate his vest and he suffered blunt-force trauma. A second officer was struck once below the vest line and a bullet entered his right hip.
The officers are being treated here at Kings County Hospital. They are alert and in stable condition. Both officers are assigned to plainclothes anti-crime in the 81st Precinct.
The suspect is a 34-year-old male who is at Brookdale Hospital in critical condition. He has been identified at Jamal Funes who we believe is from New Jersey.
The investigation is ongoing.
