Cops in Queens traded fire with a husband who held his off-duty officer-wife at gunpoint inside their South Ozone Park home on Tuesday morning.
At approximately 8:40 am, the NYPD received a report of an off-duty officer in need of assistance on 129th Street and 133rd Avenue. Upon arriving at the scene, law enforcement sources said, patrol officers were met with threats as they attempted to communicate with the husband.
Members of the 106 Precinct then proceeded to call the Emergency Service Unit for assistance.
“Emergency Service Unit personnel arrived a few minutes later, and while attempting to continue the dialogue, the suspect shot several times at those officers. During the standoff between the suspect and police, the female involved was able to jump out of the second-floor window,” Chief of Department Rodney Harrison explained during a post-standoff press conference. “The male involved, then shot in the direction of the female, and the uniformed ESU personnel. Officers returned fire causing the suspect to retreat back inside the window.”
Harrison said the off-duty officer was able to escape by jumping out of the second-story window of her home, injuring her leg in the process. The husband then unleashed a hail of gunfire after his fleeing wife, taking a bullet to his right arm by return fire from NYPD officers.
The hostage was taken to a local hospital and is in stable condition.
Members of the NYPD Hostage Negotiations team and Detective Brenda Reddick of the 106th Precinct were able to work with the suspect’s brother to help coax him out of the home without further incident. The suspect was arrested and taken to a local hospital for treatment.
While the investigation remains active, Harrison shared, police believe the firearms utilized in the incident belonged to the off-duty female officer.
“I really want to take the opportunity to commend Detective Reddick regarding having the individual surrender. If it wasn’t for her leadership and her professionalism we would still be out here engaging,” Harrison said, adding, “Once again it is still preliminary, we are still trying to find out what firearms were involved and used, but right now it does look like our off-duty police officer’s service revolver.”
