A person of interest was apprehended in the Bronx and was taken in for questioning at a police stationhouse, according to law enforcement sources. NBC New York’s Chris Glorioso reports.
A person of interest connected to the shooting of a rookie NYPD officer in Queens on Wednesday has been taken into custody, according to multiple law enforcement sources.
The individual was taken into custody in the Bronx Thursday night by deputies and task force officers from the U.S. Marshals and the New York-New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, senior law enforcement sources told NBC New York.
The person has not yet been identified and it wasn't clear if it was the same person pictured in images released by the police department late Wednesday. The person of interest was being questioned by police late Thursday, sources said.
It comes after the reward was upped to $20,000 for information leading to the arrest of the man who shot 22-year-old Officer Brett Boller after a disruption on an MTA bus.
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Police had already taken one person into custody for questioning in connection with the mid-afternoon shooting near 161st Street and Jamaica Avenue, but police were still searching for the gunman who allegedly fired on one of their own.
According to the NYPD, Wednesday's chaos started aboard an MTA bus heading east on Jamaica Avenue around 3:30 p.m. The driver got out to flag down two cops, reporting that a man and another passenger were fighting over a seat. The officers approached the bus just as a man took off through the front door, pushing them out of his way, officials said.
Boller was able to catch up to the man, and a brief struggle ensued, officials said. The man then fired one shot, striking the officer near the right hip. The other officer then fired twice, but it wasn't clear if the suspect was hit. He took off on 161st Street and west onto 88th Avenue into a parking garage. He was last seen near Hillside Avenue.
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The weapon used to shoot Boller, who had just three months on the job, hasn't been recovered. The officer was taken to a hospital for treatment and is expected to be OK.
"We are very fortunate that he did come out of surgery. He is recovering. It will be lengthy, but we expected to make a full recovery," said NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell.
Cellphone video from the scene showed the frantic moments as fellow officers carried the injured officer to safety.
Police released multiple surveillance images of the suspect (below).
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at -800-577-TIPS.
