Two police officers were shot and wounded while investigating a robbery in the Bronx last night. The officers are being treated at St. Barnabas Hospital: Officer Andrew Dossi, 30, shot in the stomach and left arm, is in critical condition, while Officer Aliro Pellarano, 38, is in stable condition after being grazed in the chest and shot in the left arm.
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said that the cops and three other members of an Anti-Crime team were fired upon first and then returned fire. The NYPD is conducting a "massive" manhunt to find the suspected shooter.
NYPD at the scene of the shooting (David Torres)
Bratton explained that the Anti-Crime officers from the 46th Precinct had been searching for suspects in an armed robbery of the Welcome 2 Yemen grocery store at 363 East 180th Street at around 10:25 p.m. Ten minutes later, officers saw two possible suspects at the corner of East 184th Street. From Bratton's remarks:
"As they approached them, one of the suspects entered a Chinese Restaurant on Tiebout Avenue while the other suspect remained outside on the street. As two of the officers approached the male on the street, the other suspect inside of the store came out and fired upon the officers. The officers returned fire, and during the exchange, two anti-crime officers were wounded. The two suspects then fled on foot one block east to Marion Avenue, where they carjacked a white Camaro. That vehicle was subsequently found abandoned near east 188th Street and Park Avenue. A black revolver was also recovered nearby.
"We are currently investigating if the suspect who fired upon the officers was also involved in the prior robbery. Shortly after the shooting incident investigators were notified of a male who entered Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in upper Manhattan with a gunshot wound to his back. Detectives are currently investigating any possible connection to this incident.
"The suspects wanted for the shooting of the officers are described as two male Hispanics approximately 25-30 years old wearing dark clothing. One of the suspects has a close cropped full beard. One of the suspects may have been wounded."
Police released video of the suspect who shot the cops:
A resident told the Post, "I heard six shot. I looked out and I saw the shot cops getting inside a car. Somebody was saying ‘Oh my God, oh my God!’" Another neighbor said to the Wall Street Journal, "It sounded like a bomb. It was an extremely loud explosion. A big bang. It was really loud. There was more than one. It was one, then it sounded like more."
The Post also reports, "Cops confiscated a black Nissan Altima that was parked outside of New York Presbyterian Hospital. The car was rented from an agency in Mount Kisco. It was not clear how the Altima was connected to the suspects, but it may have been the vehicle used to take the wounded suspect to the hosptial after the shooting, law enforcement sources said."
Officers Dossi and Pellarano had actually finished their shift but went back to help respond to the robbery. PBA Bronx Trustee Joe Anthony said, "Instead of going home to their families they heroically ran out to help the citizens of the Bronx who were in danger, putting their lives on the line."
Mayor Bill de Blasio said, "This is absolutely a case of officers going above and beyond the call to protect their fellow New Yorkers. This is another indicator of the dangers that all officers face in the line of duty. We depend on them to keep this whole city safe."
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call Crime stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
