NYPD officer, three others shot in apparent 'friendly fire' incident after man brandishes knife at Brooklyn subway station, cops say
The scene in Brownsville, Brooklyn, after the shooting incident on Sunday. Credit: John Roca
Four people were shot Sunday in Brooklyn, including a New York City police officer and two bystanders, after police opened fire on an alleged subway fare evader who brandished a knife, NYPD officials said.
The officer, who was hit in the chest, is in stable condition, according to the NYPD. A female bystander was grazed by a bullet and a male bystander was hit in the head, while the fare evader was hit numerous times in his body, including in his abdomen, police said at a news conference at Brookdale Hospital Medical Center.
The shooting, at the Sutter Avenue subway stop in Brownsville, took place just after 3 p.m., according to police. All bullets appeared to have been fired by the police, Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said.
Two officers assigned to patrol the subway stop followed the alleged fare evader after he skipped the station turnstile and then went up three flights of stairs to the elevated train line, police said. The man refused to stop, they added, and allegedly threatened to kill the officers if they did not stop following him.
He then boarded an L train, at which point each officer used a Taser that failed to subdue the man, according to police. After that, he exited the train and advanced on an officer with a knife, police said. Both officers fired multiple rounds, striking the man multiple times, officials said.
Maddrey confirmed at the briefing that police "believe at this time" the officers were the only ones to shoot.
"I don’t like to use that term friendly fire, but absolutely we believe at this time that our officers were the only ones who discharged weapons at this time," Maddrey said. "I don’t know if that’ll change. So everyone that was struck this afternoon, we believe, was by our officers."
Maddrey emphasized the incident was only a few hours old and details might change. An investigation is ongoing, he said.
The names of the officers, the alleged fare evader and the bystanders were not disclosed.
Mayor Eric Adams described the fare evader as a "career criminal" with more than 20 arrests.
The incident was well documented by cameras on the train and platform, and by body cameras on officers at the scene, Adams said.
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