NEW YORK — A plainclothes New York City police officer riding in an unmarked car was shot and critically wounded Saturday evening by a man he and other officers were pursuing after suspecting him of carrying a gun, a police spokeswoman said.
The on-duty officer, who was not identified, was taken to a hospital in critical but stable condition, said Deputy Chief Kim Royster.
A suspect was arrested hours after police flooded the scene in a section of Queens that neighbors described as quiet and safe.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner William Bratton were at the hospital, City Hall officials said.
The officers pulled their car up to the man because his clothing appeared to show a dip in his waistband suggestive of carrying a handgun, Royster said, cautioning that the account was preliminary based on an ongoing investigation. The suspect fired at least two rounds into the car.
Hours after the 6:15 p.m. shooting, police officers who had flooded the area were beginning to clear. At one point, teams of officers could be seen walking on roofs, searching house-by-house and peering into backyards and under cars with flashlights as a search for suspects was underway.
Neighbors near the scene of the shooting said they were surprised by the violence.
“You walk down the street, no trouble,” said Sandreaus Adam, 52. “This is not a neighborhood where you’re just going to hear shots.”
The shooting, the fifth of an on-duty officer in as many months in New York, comes after two NYPD officers were shot and killed in Brooklyn.
