Police critically wounded a man in West Harlem last night after he allegedly opened fire on one of the two officers who had been following him. The man, 23-year-old Franklyn Nunez, was shot twice, in the chest and upper thigh, but despite his wounds is currently listed in stable condition at Harlem Hospital, according to the NYPD.
The incident occurred after 6:30 p.m. last night when two uniformed officers approached a group of men standing near West 144th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard. When the police arrived the men "began hurriedly walking northbound" and so the police followed. As they pursued, Nunez allegedly turned around and fired twice, missing both times. So the police shot back. A .45-caliber Colt 1911 pistol and two shell casings were later recovered at the scene. According to sources the weapon was reported stolen from North Carolina last November.
Nunez, who recently completed a two-year prison term, was quickly taken to Harlem Hospital. He is being charged with disorderly conduct, reckless endangerment, assault against a police officer, criminal possession of stolen property and criminal use of a firearm. Meanwhile, the firing officer, a rookie from the 32nd Precinct, was taken to St. Luke's Hospital to be treated for trauma.
Despite the fact that the perp allegedly fired first, in the wake of last month's shooting of Ramarley Graham and the death of Trayvon Martin in Florida, the incident did not appear to sit well with locals. According to the Times, "Some residents berated officers as they gathered at the scene of the gunfire, apparently unaware of the circumstances of the shooting. One man shouted, 'No justice, no peace!'"
