'They don't care,' says NYC Mayor Eric Adams of suspects in shooting of off-duty cop
The NYPD released this photo of a handgun recovered at the scene where an off-duty city cop was shot and wounded in Queens on Tuesday night Credit: NYPD
An off-duty NYPD officer, shot and wounded Tuesday night in Queens, prompted Mayor Eric Adams to highlight what he said is a hard truth about those accused in this latest episode of surging gun violence.
"They don’t care, they don’t care," Adams said of the suspects during a news conference early Wednesday at Jamaica Hospital, where the wounded officer was recovering.
The shooting was the sixth involving an NYPD officer this year and came just hours before the funeral of a city cop fatally shot during a January domestic call in Harlem.
At the hospital, Adams also said he will renew calls for federal help fighting gun violence during President Joe Biden's visit to the city Thursday.
Police said the officer shot Tuesday was driving to work at 10:20 p.m. when the two male suspects attempted to carjack him at the intersection of Beach Channel Drive and Beach 62nd Street in the Far Rockaway section of Queens.
The suspects fired several times at the officer, police said, striking him in the shoulder. The cop, who returned fire but missed the two men, was in stable condition Wednesday night at Jamaica Hospital, according to the NYPD.
Cops from the nearby 100th Precinct heard the shots, responded and were themselves fired upon as they pursued the suspects on foot to the intersection of Beach Channel Drive and Beach 59th Street, said NYPD Chief of Department Kenneth Corey.
One bullet from the suspects struck a police vehicle but the officers weren’t hurt and managed to take the pair into custody at the intersection without returning fire, Corey said.
"These officers are being fired at and did not shoot back," the chief said. "Instead, they chased the suspects on foot."
Police recovered a small semiautomatic handgun at the scene. The NYPD did not immediately say where the wounded cop was based.
Adams was joined by NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell and elected officials at the hospital early Wednesday — another show of support for an officer hit by gunfire, and also, a department beset by new levels of violence directed at cops.
The mayor made note of the wounded off-duty officer when he spoke during the funeral Mass for NYPD Officer Wilfred Mora, 27, at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan. Mora and Officer Jason Rivera both died after being shot Jan. 21 in Harlem while investigating a domestic call. Both were posthumously promoted to detective.
The latest NYPD crime data showed that violent crimes were rising well ahead of last year’s pace. Since Jan. 1, shootings have increased by 32% compared to the same period in 2021. Just as troubling to some officials has been the rise in serious felonies, which have jumped nearly 38% over a year ago. In contrast, serious crimes last January saw a 21% drop compared to the same month in 2020.
Despite police frustration with what he called "revolving door" justice, Adams said at the hospital that cops still will keep doing their job.
"Now it is time for lawmakers to do their job," the mayor said.
With 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.
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