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145th Street Subway Shootout Leaves Suspect Dead and Cop Injured

By DNAinfo Staff on February 14, 2012 4:57pm  | Updated on February 14, 2012 9:31pm

police officer was shot and a suspect killed in a shootout at a Harlem subway station Tuesday afternoon, sources said.
police officer was shot and a suspect killed in a shootout at a Harlem subway station Tuesday afternoon, sources said.
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DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg

By Murray Weiss, Ben Fractenberg, Jeff Mays, Amy Zimmer and Tom Liddy

DNAinfo Staff

MANHATTAN — An on-duty detective was shot at point blank range in a hail of gunfire at a Harlem subway station Tuesday afternoon — but was able to kill the suspect, who was wanted for shooting a woman in the face in Queens, before anyone else was wounded, authorities said.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said that Det. Kevin Herlihy, a married father of three, was shot at up to six times at point blank range with a gun cloaked in a newspaper at the 145th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue station, but managed to return fire, despite having a wounded arm, as bystanders ran for their lives.

"Fortunately, we had another miraculous outcome today, with an officer shot at close range, just 10 feet away," Kelly said of the 22-year veteran. "He not only survived, but was able to stop his assailant from shooting anyone else." 

Det. Kevin Herlihy, who was shot by a gunman at the 145th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue subway station on Feb. 14, 2012.
Det. Kevin Herlihy, who was shot by a gunman at the 145th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue subway station on Feb. 14, 2012.
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NYPD

The shooting comes just two weeks after Officer Kevin Brennan was shot in the head in a Bushwick housing project and two months after Det. Peter Figoski was shot and killed in East New York.

All three officers were shot at point blank range.

Sources said that Herlihy, who received three commendations, and his wife had an emotional meeting after the shooting and he told people he knows how lucky he was.

Officials said that the gunman, Michael McBride, 52, was wanted for shooting a 25-year-old woman in the head at an apartment complex in Rockaway Park, Queens, Monday afternoon.

According to Kelly, McBride, who was on parole for robbery, went to to the building on Beach 100th Street, where the victim's mom, his ex-girlfriend, lived.

There, he began to argue with the woman's daughter and allegedly shot her once in the head.  She remains hospitalized in very critical condition at North Shore University Hospital.

The shooting sparked an "intensive search" involving the Queens Violent Felony Squad, of which Herlihy was a member.

Around 4 p.m. Monday, the team of investigators had tracked him to 145th Street, near where he lived and spotted him walking west towards St. Nicholas Avenue.

At some point, McBride, who has a long rap sheet, realized that he was being followed and ducked into the subway station, Kelly said.

Herlihy and the other officers, who were in plain clothes, gave chase, following the gunman as he ran into the station and scrambled across the mezzanine.

McBride then turned and opened fire with a .22 caliber gun that was hidden under a newspaper, firing at least three times and possibly as many as six, Kelly said.

Though he was hit in the left bicep, Herlihy, who was just 10 feet away, returned fire 13 times, hitting McBride once in the chest.

The suspect collapsed on the landing.

A man who works at the Four Stars Deli, right outside the station entrance, said that he heard about 10 shots and went outside to see what was going on.

"I saw kids coming out running," he said. "I seen a guy laying down on the platform."

"I went to check what happened and I saw the cops surrounding him."

Earlier in the day, police had said it was seeking the public's help in finding Michael McBride, 52, of Rockaway Park, Queens.  Police were looking for Michael McBride, 52, of Queens, on Tuesday in connection with the shooting of a 21-year-old woman Monday in Rockaway Park.
Earlier in the day, police had said it was seeking the public's help in finding Michael McBride, 52, of Rockaway Park, Queens. Police were looking for Michael McBride, 52, of Queens, on Tuesday in connection with the shooting of a 21-year-old woman Monday in Rockaway Park.
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NYPD

Another witness, who did not want to give his name, said that McBride was lying on the ground for about 20 minutes after he got shot.

“He was on the ground just laying there and they weren’t doing anything except telling us to back up," he said.

McBride was taken to Harlem Hospital where he was pronounced dead.  Herlihy was taken to Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital and listed in stable condition.

"He is the kind of detective that you'd want out there protecting us," said a relieved Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"All indications are that he will be able to walk out of here tomorrow."

Bloomberg said that McBride's gun, as well as the alleged shooters in the cases of Officer Brennan and Det. Figoski, were illegal, and should serve as a reminder about the need for gun control.

Officials said that five bullet fragments were recovered at the scene and that McBride's revolver had empty casings in all six chambers.

"This was an example of outstanding police work," Kelly said. "It combined sophisticated tracking methods and something much harder to quantify — that is good old fashioned courage."

Additional reporting by Matt Draper