NYPD: Cops kill armed man in the Bronx, 3rd police-involved-shooting in 2 days
An NYPD officer shot and wounded early Thursday still "held a ballistic shield in front of his team to protect them from gunfire," NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. Credit: AFP / Timothy A. Clary via Getty Images
Police shot and killed a burglary suspect in the Bronx on Thursday afternoon after a foot pursuit that ended with the wounded man in the Bronx River, NYPD officials said.
The third officer-involved-shooting in two days was sparked about 1:30 p.m., police said, by a 911 call reporting a burglary at a first- floor unit in an apartment building, located near the intersection of East 224 Street and Bronx Boulevard in the Williamsbridge section.
After cops entered the unit, they encountered an armed male suspect, NYPD Chief of Department Kenneth Corey told news reporters during a briefing at the scene. The officers first attempted without success to subdue the man with a Taser, Corey said, before the suspect fired two shots at them and escaped through a window.
He then ran to the nearby Bronx River with cops in pursuit and ignored their demands to drop the weapon, Corey said. It was then that the 27-year-old man turned toward three officers who fired, hitting the suspect in his torso and arm, according to the chief.
The wounded suspect ended up in the Bronx River and was extracted by police. Officers rendered first aid until an EMS ambulance transported the man to Jacobi Medical Center where he died, Corey said. The three officers involved were also taken to a hospital for evaluation but weren’t injured, according to the NYPD.
Police wouldn’t identify the suspect late Thursday but Corey said the man had two open felony cases in New York City. Investigators found a 9 mm handgun they believe the suspect fired at the officers, Corey said.
Early Thursday, a narcotics detective was shot in the leg on Staten Island during execution of a warrant in a drug case, police said. The detective, identified by police sources as Dominick Libretti, 33, of Staten Island, was taken to Staten Island University Medical Center for what officials said were serious, potentially career-ending injuries.
He is expected to make a full recovery, officials said.
"Even with a serious leg wound, bleeding badly enough that fellow officers had to apply immediate pressure to slow the blood loss, he held a ballistic shield in front of his team to protect them from gunfire," NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said during a news conference at the hospital.
The detective has been on the force for 10 years, including the past four in the Narcotics division. He had never previously fired his weapon, said NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig.
The NYPD identified the shooter as Nelson Pizarro, 39, who was also shot in the leg by officers during the gunfight.
Anthony Marshall, 40, the man police were at the home to arrest, was charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance. Two women were also taken into custody from the home, officials said.
Tuesday night an officer was shot and wounded in the Bronx after grappling with a 16-year-old boy armed with a handgun, the NYPD said. The weapon fired during the struggle, striking the boy and the cop, according to police.
Both the wounded officer and the suspect were treated at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx. The officer, Kaseem Pennant, 27, was released from the hospital Wednesday. The suspect, whose identity was not released because he is a minor, was treated, and arrested Thursday on charges of attempted murder and weapons possession, police said. The gun had been stolen in October 2020 from York County, South Carolina, according to police.
Detectives Endowment Association President Paul DiGiacomo blamed the recent shootings and gun seizures on the state's bail reform laws — which eliminated bail on most misdemeanors and nonviolent crimes — and called for state lawmakers to repeal the law.
"Because there are so many guns on the street and the policies that are in place with bail reform are not working, the people of the city are unsafe," DiGiacomo said.
With Matthew Chayes, Joan Gralla and Keldy Ortiz
Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.
