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Off-Duty Cop Stabbed, Seriously Injured After Chasing Burglar in Queens

By  Joe Parziale Wil Cruz and Julie  Shapiro | September 12, 2012 2:07pm | Updated on September 12, 2012 4:47pm

JAMAICA — An off-duty police officer was stabbed and seriously hurt as he chased an apparent burglar from his home in Queens Wednesday afternoon, police sources and witnesses said.

Officer Rishi Gobin was stabbed in the abdomen near his home at 103-12 170th St. about 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, after a foot chase turned violent, police and witnesses said.

Christopher Johnson said he was returning from a nearby bodega when he saw one man chasing another down Liberty Avenue near 170th Street, yelling and causing a large commotion.

"I saw the guy turn around and poke the cop," Johnson said. "The cop fell to the ground and the guy took off down [170th Street]. It all happened so fast."

Gobin, a five-year member of the NYPD who is assigned to the 42nd Precinct in The Bronx, was taken to Jamaica Hospital in serious condition, the FDNY and NYPD said.

"It doesn’t appear that any vital organs have been struck and he’s sedated so we are not able to speak to him at this time," Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told reporters Wednesday afternoon, according to a report.

Cops flooded the scene of the stabbing and were searching for two suspects, sources said.

Neighbors described Gobin as a family man who mostly kept to himself.

"He's pretty quiet...but we stop and talk sometimes," said Walter Smith, 54, who lives on the block. "My son plays with his daughters."

Another neighbor said Gobin had two daughters and a son, and that she often sees them around the neighborhood together.

William Charles, 50, who grew up in the neighborhood, said he hasn't seen this much crime in the area in decades.

"It died down for a while, but it's starting to get bad again," Charles said.