Officials: Off-duty NYPD officer from Long Island wounded, man killed in Queens shooting
The NYPD says this is the firearm recovered in the shooting of an off-duty officer who was shot multiple times in an exchange of gunfire with a man who was killed outside a Queens nightclub early Thursday. Credit: NYPD
An off-duty NYPD lieutenant from Long Island was shot and wounded outside a Queens nightclub early Thursday and another man died when a group held up the cop and gunfire was exchanged, according to law enforcement officials.
The lieutenant, identified by his union president, Lou Turco, and a law enforcement source as Nathan Yakubov, 44, remained in critical but stable condition Thursday at Elmhurst Hospital, officials said. Ski-masked robbers confronted the officer about 3 a.m. at Northern Boulevard and 57th Street, NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said. The robbers may have been trying to steal jewelry the officer was wearing after leaving work about midnight Wednesday, Shea said.
Later Thursday, the state Attorney General's office said it was investigating the shooting. The Office of Special Investigations is leading the probe.
"OSI assesses every incident reported to it where a police officer or a peace officer, including a corrections officer, may have caused the death of a person, by an act or omission," a news release said. "Under the law, the officer may be on-duty or off-duty, and the decedent may be armed or unarmed. … If OSI’s assessment indicates an officer caused the death, OSI proceeds to conduct a full investigation of the incident.
Shea said the lieutenant fired at least eight shots; one or more of the robbers fired at least nine.
Database checks indicated that Yakubov, who is assigned to the 71st Precinct in Brooklyn, lives in Nassau County.
The unidentified suspect in the holdup was shot in the chest and stomach. It remained unclear Thursday night who fatally shot the suspect. His name was not immediately available.
The other suspects fled in a vehicle, Shea said.
With Anthony M. DeStefano
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
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