The scene near the shooting in Woodside (L) and an image of the handgun recovered by police (R) (Citizen and NYPD)
Dec. 16, 2021 By Michael Dorgan
An off-duty NYPD lieutenant was critically wounded — while a suspect was fatally shot — during an attempted robbery turned shootout on a Woodside street early Thursday.
The cop was targeted by a group of at least three armed suspects wearing ski masks as he left La Boom nightclub, located at 56-15 Northern Blvd., at around 3:10 a.m., according to police.
The group attempted to rob him of his jewelry as he walked along Northern Boulevard and 57th Street which sparked a gunfight, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said in a press briefing this morning.
The suspects discharged nine bullets, striking the cop in the torso and leg, Shea said.
The lieutenant, who has not been named, fired eight times and hit one of the suspects in the chest and stomach, Shea said.
Responding police officers found the off-duty cop and the 20-year-old suspect lying on the ground with gunshot wounds, Shea said.
Police, including NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea, held a press briefing this morning following a shootout in Woodside (Photo NYPD)
They were both rushed to Elmhurst Hospital by EMS where the off-duty cop was listed in a critical but stable condition while the suspect was pronounced dead at 3:35 a.m., he said.
The other would-be robbers fled the scene, possibly in a car, Shea said.
The lieutenant had been on duty Wednesday until just before midnight and then made his way to the nightclub, Shea said. He is a 15-year-veteran who is stationed in Brooklyn, police said.
“He has multiple gunshot wounds,” Shea said. “He is lucky to be alive.”
A handgun belonging to the dead suspect was found at the scene. The gun was a semi-automatic fitted with an extended magazine, police said.
The dead suspect’s identity has not yet been released pending family notification.
He has one prior arrest in New York City for gang assault last year, Shea said.
Shea said a pattern of similar robberies have been taking place throughout the city recently where suspects target victims wearing jewelry as they leave nightclubs. Police are investigating links between those incidents and last night’s shooting in Woodside, he said.
Watch as @NYPDShea and NYPD executives provide details of the off-duty officer shot in Queens. https://t.co/BmUgm9YVlO
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) December 16, 2021
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