KIPS BAY — The detective who was shot in a gunfight with an accused child molester in the West Village Monday has been released from the hospital.
"Thank you to the hospital, the NYPD, my family," said Mario Muniz as he left Bellevue Hospital Wednesday. He underwent emergency surgery after being shot in the abdomen.
The bullet entered the right side of Muniz's abdomen and crossed to the left side of his body, narrowly missing his vital organs, said Spiro Frangos, chief of trauma, emergency surgery and critical care at Bellevue Hospital.
"I saw him today, he's actually in very good spirits," the surgeon said. “He was very lucky.”
Muniz and two U.S. Marshals walked into a Greenwich Village smoke shop Monday to arrest Charles Mozdir, 32, who had been on the run after being accused of sexually assaulting a 7-year-old boy in California in 2012.
Mozdir opened fire, hitting the detective twice below his bulletproof vest. Both of the U.S. Marshals were also wounded and were released from the hospital Tuesday.
About 100 officers applauded Muniz as he left the hospital in a wheelchair. His partner Joseph Trovato pushed him and U.S. Marshal Ryan Westfield, who was also shot Monday, walked alongside.
“I feel great,” the detective said as he exited the hospital.
