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Victim dead, bystander wounded as Bronx cops, gunmen trade shots on street

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Assistant Chief Kenneth Lehr and police officials address the press about a shootout in the Bronx on April 3, 2021.

The investigation continues into a shootout between police officers and two armed attackers in the Bronx on Saturday night that left one man dead and a bystander wounded.

Charges against the two gunmen remain pending, as the NYPD Force Investigation Division and the Detective Bureau continues to flesh out the circumstances surrounding the shooting, according to Assistant Chief Kenneth Lehr, commander of NYPD Patrol Borough Bronx.

Lehr said the trouble began at about 6:30 p.m. on April 3, when three uniformed members of the 44th Precinct heard shots ring out in the vicinity of East 165th Street between College and Findlay Avenues in Concourse Village.

Moments later, the chief noted, the officers spotted two men firing shots at a third man who ran toward the cops, seeking aid. 

“At that time, the uniformed officers discharged their firearms toward those gunmen,” Lehr said. One of the gunmen suffered a bullet wound during the exchange, authorities said.

The gunmen then bolted westbound along East 166th Street before turning northbound on College Avenue, police noted.

Two other uniformed police officers on College Avenue then spotted the suspects throwing their weapons under a nearby van, Lehr said. Those officers took the men into custody without further incident, with the injured gunman hospitalized for treatment.

But it was too late for the victim the gunmen had initially targeted, according to police. Lehr said the victim suffered numerous gunshot wounds and was died a short time later; police have withheld his identity, pending family notification.

Cops also discovered that a bystander had been struck in the arm with a bullet; it’s not clear, at this point, whether he was hit by one of the gunmen or one of the officers. 

“Officers immediately rendered aid to that victim, including the application of a tourniquet and a quick clot to the wound,” Lehr said. The bystander is now recovering from surgery at Lincoln Hospital.

None of the officers were injured during the shootout, police said.

Law enforcement agents still do not know what caused the gunmen to initially open fire in the first place.

Detectives are now examining bodycam footage from the officers as well as other video evidence from the scene as part of the ongoing investigation.