BROOKLYN — Two NYPD officers were shot in Bed-Stuy early Saturday by a man who slammed into a police car while fleeing authorities, officials said.
The incident unfolded after two officers from PSA 3 in Bushwick heard a gunshot near the intersection of Quincy Street and Malcolm X Boulevard about 3:20 a.m. and approached the suspect, who pointed a gun at them before speeding away in a car, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said.
The officers called for backup while pursuing the gunman, who made it about a block to Lexington Avenue and Malcolm X Boulevard going the wrong way before "ramming" a marked police car from the 83rd Precinct, Bratton said.
Multiple police officers responded to the call and traded gunfire with the suspect, who hit one officer in his bulletproof vest and another just below his vest in the right hip, the commissioner said.
The officers, William Reddin, 33, and Andrew Yurkiw, 29, were in stable condition at Kings County Hospital as of Saturday morning, the NYPD said. Both work a plainclothes detail with the 81st Precinct's anti-crime unit, Bratton added.
The suspect, identified as Jamal Funes, 34, was also struck multiple times and listed in critical condition Saturday morning at Brookdale Hospital, Bratton said. Police believe Funes is from New Jersey, he added.
A .357 revolver was found on the front seat of the suspect's car, along with five used shell casings, Bratton said.
Funes has four prior arrests in New York, all of which are sealed, a police spokesman said.
An investigation is ongoing.
Reddin, who has two children with a third on the way, has spent nine years on the force, Mayor Bill de Blasio said at Kings County Hospital Saturday morning. Yurkiw has been with the NYPD for three years, the mayor added.
De Blasio said that he and Bratton had the chance to visit with the officers, who were "alert" and "talkative" after the shooting.
"Well, this morning is a reminder of the important and dangerous and crucial work that our police officers do, and the way they put their lives on the line for us every single day, and that is why this city is kept safe, because these men and women step up for us," the mayor said.
