An off-duty cop shot a suspected mugger during a botched robbery in the Bronx early this morning. The NYPD sergeant was near the intersection of Creston Avenue and East 178th Street in Mount Hope at around 4 am when, police say, three men approached, one pulled a knife, and they demanded he hand over his cellphone.
The officer was chatting with his son on FaceTime when the goons rolled up, according to NBC4. Police say that in the process of the robbery, the suspects spotted the cop's badge and one said in Spanish, "Shoot him, shoot him" as another revealed a gun. The officer fired seven times, according to the witness, and hit one suspect in the torso, police said. The other two, described as in their 20s fled.
When witness Luis Delvalle came to his window, the cop was stumbling, and Delvalle thought he was injured.
"He was screaming, 'I need assistance, I'm a police officer. Call the police. I'm an officer,'" Delvalle told NBC4. Delvalle called 911 as the officer "was standing out there with his weapon drawn holding one individual down."
The officer was evaluated at Jacobi Hospital.
Paramedics transported the injured suspect, 18, to Saint Barnabas Hospital in stable condition. Police say they found two knives on him, a kitchen knife and a steak knife.
One suspect still at large was last seen wearing a red sweater and armed with a gun. The other was wearing a black jacket and armed with a knife.
