A New York City police officer from Suffolk County, shot in the face while responding to a 911 call about a shooting in Brooklyn on Monday, was released from the hospital, NYPD officials said.
The officer struck by shotgun fire was identified as Sharjeel Waris, 25. He had been reported in stable condition at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, but Monday afternoon he was released. Two other officers from the 73rd Precinct were injured in a motor vehicle crash heading to the scene and sustained minor injuries, authorities said. They were in stable condition, the NYPD said Monday evening.
The events unfolded just before 6 a.m., when EMS responded to a report of an unconscious man in front of an apartment building at 1046 Thomas S. Boyland St. in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
Upon arrival, they could see the man had been shot, and they notified the NYPD, Tisch said at a news conference.
The man, later identified as Leroy Wallace, 41, of that address, was pronounced dead and one shotgun shell casing was found in the vestibule of the building where the victim was shot. "We believe he stumbled outside to the sidewalk where he collapsed and where he was found," Tisch said.
Two officers from the 73rd Precinct remained to secure the scene both on the sidewalk and inside the building.
Then, about 7:45 a.m., a resident of one of the first-floor apartments opened the door and fired at the officer in the hallway "from close range with a shotgun," striking the officer on the left side of his face.
The officer's injuries are consistent with bird shot pellets being fired from a shotgun, Tisch said.
Waris returned fire and the resident, a man, barricaded himself in the apartment. The officer was taken to Brookdale for treatment of injuries.
The two other officers were injured in a vehicle collision at an intersection with Thomas Boyland Street while heading to the scene. They and the driver of the other vehicle also were taken to Brookdale for treatment of injuries.
Officers broke a first-floor window and flew a drone into the apartment, and camera footage showed a man lying motionless with a shotgun on the floor near him. They then went inside the apartment, and the man was pronounced dead. He was not immediately identified by police.
"Today is another reminder of what's at stake when your NYPD officers come to work," Tisch said. "They never know what will be on the other side of that door, but whatever it is, they face it with an uncommon valor that defines this department."
Police Benevolent Association president Patrick Hendry described Waris as "upbeat" in his hospital room on Monday morning.
Waris was 19 when he took the test to become an NYPD officer, "a job he always wanted to do" and will continue doing, Hendry said.
Newsday's Anthony M. DeStefano contributed to this story.