Two NYPD police officers were wounded in a shootout during a pursuit in Queens, authorities tell us.
Two police officers were shot during a chase with an armed suspect Monday in Queens, New York City. The officers are both stable and expected to fully recover, according to the NYPD.
The incident occurred during an operation targeting moped and scooter robbers, led by the Police Commissioner, Edward Caban. The suspect, 19-year-old Bernardo Raul Castro Mata, is an undocumented migrant from Venezuela, recently residing in a former hotel converted into a migrant shelter.
The Queens District Attorney's Office has not yet assigned Mata a defense attorney, and he is expected to be arraigned soon.
Mata was spotted driving a moped in the wrong direction, prompting a pursuit. The two officers attempted to stop Mata, who then fled the scene on foot – after which, they gave chase. He opened fire on the officers, who responded with their weapons.
One officer was hit in the leg, while the other sustained a bullet impact on his bullet-resistant vest. Still, both are in good spirits and expected to recover.
Mata, 19, suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and is currently receiving treatment at New York Presbyterian Queens Hospital. He is anticipated to survive.
As of now, Mata has not been questioned.
Having no previous arrests in New York City, Mata is a prime suspect in several other robberies in the area, according to NYPD chief of detectives Joe Kenny. He was also driving an unregistered motorbike.
The perpetrators involved in these thefts travel chiefly on scooters and motorbikes as they commit their crimes, which include shootings, robberies, and phone snatches. There have been a total of 80 "robbery patterns" in New York this year, involving hundreds of occurrences where such scooters and motorcycles were used.
It is unclear whether Mata was considered a suspect in these cases before the shooting transpired.
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Due to the shooting incident, the NYPD is now focusing on questioning Mata in relation to several other robberies in the area. The two injured NYPD officers, reassuringly, are both expected to make a full recovery.
