A police officer was shot in the arm in the Bronx early Tuesday, and a 16-year-old was arrested, officials said.
Police were seeking two additional suspects in connection with the shooting on Prospect Avenue and East 183 Street just after 3 a.m., New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said.
The shooting happened while the officer and his partner were on patrol in uniform in an unmarked car in the Belmont neighborhood. The officers spotted two males dressed all in black and pulled over to speak with them, Chief of Detectives James Essig said, which is when one of the suspects pulled out a gun.
“As they pull up at least one male fires at least six times, striking the windshield and our officer,” Essig said.
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The wounded officer, 34-year-old Paul Lee, and his partner got out of their car to return fire and gave chase on foot, Essig said. A 16-year-old male was arrested and a .32-caliber gun was recovered from him, the chief said.
Seconds after the initial shooting, Essig said, more shots were fired, not at the officers but toward the location from which the first shots had been fired. Police were seeking the person who was with the 16-year old and the person who fired the second volley of shots.
Lee, who has been an officer for three years and is assigned to the 48 Precinct, was shot one time in the left upper arm. He was transported to St. Barnabas Hospital by his partner, a 7-year-veteran, with injuries that were not life- threatening as the bullet "narrowly" missed his "vital structures," Sewell said. He was later released from the hospital.
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Sewell said her department “will stop at nothing to make sure that these subjects involved in this shooting and the people who drive violence in this city will be brought to justice.”
The teen who was arrested was charged with attempted murder, assault and weapons possession. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.
Mayor Eric Adams, who joined police officials at a news conference at the hospital where the wounded officer was recovering, said he had spoken with the officer and his family.
“He is proud to have done his job on the front line to deal with the violence we have witnessed, particularly in the borough of the Bronx,” Adams said. The mayor, a former police officer, added, “Too many young people have too many guns in their hands. And our job is to create a pathway to stop that and to ensure that we remove these guns off our streets.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
