A police officer was wounded after confronting a homicide suspect in Brooklyn who was killed after opening fire on cops on Monday morning.
According to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, cops in Brownsville were conducting an investigation at around 7:45 a.m. on Nov. 17 after a 41-year-old man was shot inside a home located at 1046 Thomas S Boyland St. earlier in the morning.
The deceased, identified as Leeroy Wallace, staggered outside after suffering a gunshot and collapsed on the sidewalk.
EMS responded and found Wallace dead at the scene and immediately notified police. Officers from the 73rd Precinct responded and discovered a shotgun shell casing in the vestibule of the building, where they believe the victim had initially been mortally wounded.
As police established a crime scene, Tisch said, the gunman emerged and opened fire on the officers.
“A male opens the door of one of the first-floor apartments and fires at the officer in the hallway from close range with a shotgun, striking the officer on the left side of his face; his injuries are consistent with bird shot pellets being fired from a shotgun,” Tisch said. “Our cop returns fire, and the perp barricades himself back inside the apartment.”
The wounded officer, identified by Tisch as Sharjeel Waris, 25, was treated for a non-life-threatening injury at Brookdale University Hospital.
During the chaos, and as police called for backup to the scene, officers inside a marked police cruiser from the 73rd Precinct were racing to the area along New Lots Avenue and Thomas Boylan Street whebn they collided with a civilian-operated vehicle. All parties involved suffered minor injuries and were hospitalized.
Meanwhile, the NYPD Emergency Service Unit (ESU) arrived on the scene and smashed the first-floor window in order to gain entry to the home.
“They flew a drone into the apartment. Camera footage showed a male lying motionless on the kitchen floor with a shotgun on the floor near him. ESU then made entry into the apartment to render aid, and the perp was pronounced DOA on scene,” Commissioner Tisch said.
While police say they are not yet identifying the suspect, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said they believe he was struck by Officer Waris when he returned fire. The shot may have caused the gunman’s demise.
Kenny also stated that both the gunman and Wallace were residents and lived down the hall from one another on the first floor. The exact nature of their feud was not made apparent.
A maintenance worker at the Thomas S Boyland Street location, who identified himself as John, said that the building owner called him and told him that a tenant had been killed.
“I take care of the building, I am here every day — I was here yesterday,” John said, adding that he knows the man who was killed. “It is scary.”
An eyewitness described the terrifying moment the armed suspect attempted to gun down police.
“I was coming from an appointment at Brookdale with the doctor and I saw the commotion. Cops running, I saw the car crash,” Kim McMcoy said. They started shooting. I ran and hid. It was crazy.”