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Police Shoot Armed Man after Alleged Carjacking and Chase in Bushwick

By  Maya Shwayder Ben Fractenberg Amy Zimmer and Alissa Ambrose | June 29, 2012 3:17pm | Updated on June 30, 2012 6:42pm

Police shot an armed man Friday morning after a wild chase through Bushwick, Commissioner Ray Kelly said.
Police shot an armed man Friday morning after a wild chase through Bushwick, Commissioner Ray Kelly said.
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DNA/Maya Shwayder

BUSHWICK — Police shot an armed man Friday morning after a wild chase through Bushwick that involved an alleged carjacking, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.

The man was taken to Kings County Hospital, fire officials said. The man remained in critical condition Saturday, police said.

Police responded to a call at 10:20 a.m. about a man who apparently had broken car windows. When officers got out of their car to question the suspect, he then forced his way into the backseat of another car where two people were in the front seat, Kelly said.

The car with the suspect sped away until an unmarked police pulled it over on Weirfield Street.

"The individual gets out of the car, has a gun in his hand, begins to run, and the officers pursue him," Kelly said. "He turns with a weapon and one round is fired by the police officers. He is struck."

A plainclothes officer fired the shot, Kelly said, adding that the man was believed to have been shot in the head.

It was not clear whether the suspect fired at the police, Kelly said.

Eddie Cintron, 58, who has lived on the block for decades, said he heard the cops screaming at the suspect to "Put the gun down! Put the gun down!" he said. 

"I heard a big bang after that. Cops came from all over the place," he said.  "I saw the guy on the ground, he had handcuffs on," he said, but wasn't moving.

Later, as police officers escorted the undercover cop to a waiting vehicle, he said the officer looked stunned. "He looked very nervous from what I saw while they were walking away," said Cintron.

Another witness, Ricardo Rodriguez, 23, said he was with his fiancée and brother on their way to the doctor when they witnessed the incident.

"The cop in the gray shirt stood over [the man] and pointed the gun at him until [other officers] came and cuffed him," said Rodriguez.

"He was on the floor twitching," he added. "His head was like a water fountain. It was gushing blood."