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Brooklyn cops survive brush with death after gunman fires on them inside apartment

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Police units remained on the scene Monday morning along Hawthorne Street in Brooklyn following a shooting Sunday night in which two officers narrowly escaped serious or fatal injuries.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

Two Brooklyn officers are lucky to be alive after a gunman shot at them while they responded to a reported shooting an apartment on Sunday night.

One of the officers was grazed in the left leg by a bullet, while the other cop miraculously escaped injury when a fired shot struck part of his jacket and bodycam — but somehow completely missed his body.

The gunman who fired at the cops was taken into custody following a brief standoff, law enforcement sources said Monday morning. Charges against him are currently pending the results of the ongoing investigation.

Police sources said the trouble began at about 9:10 p.m. on March 7, when officers assigned to the 71st Precinct responded to a 911 call about a man shot inside of an apartment building on Hawthorne Street off Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Lefferts Gardens.

Authorities said the unidentified, 44-year-old gunman had allegedly shot his 45-year-old roommate in the leg for reasons that detectives have yet to determine.

When the officers approached their second-floor apartment, cops said, the gunman began firing his weapon at them. The suspect then locked himself inside the apartment with the victim and an unidentified woman, who was not injured during the incident. 

The standoff with police, however, turned out to be brief. Within moments, according to WABC-TV, the suspect — who appeared to be emotionally disturbed — was taken into custody without further incident. He was brought to a local hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.

The officers involved in the shooting were brought to Kings County Hospital and later released following evaluation and treatment. The initial shooting victim was also brought to Kings County Hospital for treatment of gunshot wounds to his legs; he’s listed in stable condition.