New York City cop shot in Brooklyn

An NYPD officer was shot in the leg last night in the East New York section of Brooklyn during a gun battle that also wounded the suspect in the leg, a department spokesman said.

The suspect and the officer, identified as Richard Ramirez, 29, were hospitalized in stable condition late last night.

Ramirez was part of an anti-crime team based in the 75th Precinct, said Mayor Michael Bloomberg at a news conference with police officials including Commissioner Ray Kelly.

The shooting happened just before 8:30 p.m. at 454 Bradford St., said the department's chief spokesman, Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne.

Ramirez has been a member of the NYPD for four years, Bloomberg said. He was part of a plainclothes three-man patrol when they encountered the suspect with a gun, the mayor said.

The officers chased the suspect into a building and up to the third floor. He turned and fired on the officers, hitting Ramirez twice in the right leg. The three officers returned fire and wounded the man, who was taken to Brookdale Hospital, Bloomberg said.