Two NYPD Cops Shot in Bronx Armed Robbery, Suspects At Large
Two NYPD officers were shot responding to a robbery near Fordham University in the Bronx late Monday night. The suspected shooter and an accomplice are reportedly at large.
According to the New York Daily News, officer Andrew Dossi, 30, was shot in the arm and back; officer Aliro Pellerano, 38, was shot in the arm and chest. Both are in stable condition Tuesday morning. Dossi's injuries are reportedly critical. The officers were in plainclothes and responded to the call as part of a group of five cops.
New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton told NBC New York that one suspect opened fire on officers when they approached them near a restaurant and fled soon after. Police have released surveillance video depicting the suspect firing a weapon (embedded above).
The officers were shot around 10:30 p.m. when they approached two possible suspects in the grocery store robbery outside a nearby Chinese restaurant on Tiebout Avenue near East 184th Street. One of the suspects then walked into the restaurant; as the officers approached the other man on the street, the suspect in the restaurant ran out and fired at the officers, Mr. Bratton said. The officers returned fire, and the suspects fled on foot before carjacking a white Camaro that had two women inside, he said.
The police found the car abandoned near East 188th Street and Park Avenue and recovered a black revolver nearby, Mr. Bratton said. They are investigating whether the man who fired at the officers was also involved in the earlier robbery at the grocery store, which is on 180th Street, Mr. Bratton said.
NYPD Deputy Chief Kim Y. Royster confirmed to the Times that the officers shot were not targeted by suspects.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio visited the officers at St. Barnabas Hospital in the early morning hours Tuesday, telling reporters, "This is absolutely a case of officers going above and beyond the call to protect their fellow New Yorkers. This is another indicator of the dangers that all officers face in the line of duty. We depend on them to keep this whole city safe."
[Video via NYPD]