Police on Thursday night, July 8, shot and killed a gunman who they say shot three people at a Bushwick liquor store just minutes before.
Uniformed members of the Police Department’s Public Safety Unit were patrolling near the intersection of Halsey Street and Wilson Avenue by Irving Square Park at around 10:30 p.m. when they heard gunfire, NYPD Chief of Patrol Juanita Holmes said at a press conference following the shooting.
The officers headed a few blocks south of the intersection to Boardwalk Wine and Spirits, where they encountered three people who’d been shot. Surrounded by shattered glass from the blown-out storefront, the victims told officers that the gunman had fled the scene on foot, turning west onto Wilson Avenue.
Officers “immediately gave chase,” said Holmes, adding that body camera footage reviewed by the department shows the responding cops approaching the alleged gunman, who was crouched on the sidewalk in front of a nearby home halfway down the block, and demanded he drop his firearm.
“They observed the man holding a firearm in his left hand, and gave commands for the man to drop the gun,” Holmes said. “The man does not comply and instead raises the firearm in the direction of the officers.”
The officers then shot at the suspect, who was hit by at least one of their bullets. He was taken to Wyckoff Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Holmes said the cops involved in the shooting were taken to an area hospital for observation. The three victims who were shot on Halsey Street are also being treated at area hospitals. Police have not yet released the identities of the victims.
A least one firearm belonging to the suspect was recovered at the scene, and the investigation remains active and ongoing by the Force Investigation in conjunction with the Detective Bureau.
One witness said she was stunned by the gun-down.
“That liquor store is always calm,” said Stacy Clark. “I am surprised something would happen there.”
However, shootings are up nearly 86 percent year-to-date in the 83rd Precinct, where the Thursday night shootout occurred, according to NYPD data. As of July 4 of this year, there were 18 reported shootings in the precinct, compared to just seven during the same time period in 2020.
Local resident Tina Richardson told amNewYork Metro that there’s “always something going on on these two blocks,” referring to the blocks surrounding the liquor store.
“This is the third shooting I’ve seen on this block,” she said.
Additional reporting by Lloyd Mitchell
This story first appeared on AMNY.com.
