NYPD release bodycam of officers firing 30 rounds during a shootout with an armed suspect
By: Cops shot a suspected car thief in the Bronx early Sunday after a wild foot chase and two separate gun battles near Yankee Stadium, authorities said Sunday.
The mayhem unfolded when NYPD officers responded to a call of a vehicle being broken into in Upper Manhattan around 11:45 p.m. and while en route spotted a different car — which had been reported stolen — driving recklessly, police said.
“Officers from the 30th Precinct were responding to a 911 call of a vehicle being broken into,” Chief John Chell said at an early morning press conference. “En route, they engaged another car that was driving recklessly. Members of the 30th Precinct ran the plate, and the car was stolen.”
Cops chased the vehicle into the Bronx, where it stopped near 161st Street and Summit Avenue, Chell said. Two people were inside, and one was arrested quickly — while the other made a run for it across the 161st Street footbridge, cops said.
The 39-year-old suspect, identified by law-enforcement sources as Daniel Rivera, twice exchanged gunfire with officers as he tried to flee, cops said.
“Members of the 30th Precinct [first] engage this person in an exchange of gunfire,” Chell said. “At this exchange of gunfire, this individual runs into the marsh area right here next to the Major Deegan [Expressway], and a second gunfire exchange occurs.”
There was about a 10-minute lapse between the gunfire, he said. The suspect was shot during the second exchange.
“And immediately after being shot, our officers picked up this male physically, brought him up to the side of the highway, to render lifesaving aid,” Chell said.
The suspect was taken to Lincoln Hospital and listed in critical condition Sunday morning.
“The car accident wake me up. Bang!” local resident Mark Ruiz told The Post. “Then outside my window, I hear the fight, the yelling, the gunshots, Pop! I hear them yell, ‘Drop it, drop it, drop it!’ But he runs, he runs fast.
“He ran to the water, they run down there, and [in a] few minutes, the helicopter comes and makes the light on the water, and then, Bang, Bang!” said Ruiz, 64. “All the sirens and flashing lights on the [Major Deegan]. That’s all I see.”
He said he was relieved police caught up with the suspect.
“It’s no good when they don’t chase,” he said of the cops. “It’s no good, the gangs, the stealing, stealing the cars, stealing the phones. The bad people are not afraid. We are afraid, and that’s no good.”
Chell said the suspect had been known to the Police Department, but didn’t share further details. Two handguns were recovered that were believed to have been in the suspect’s possession.
“Our officers were not harmed,” Chell said. “They performed admirably tonight. Great job by our NYPD officers tonight.”
Police sources said the suspect has a long criminal history, including busts for assaulting a cop in 2004, two robberies in 2000 and a domestic incident arrest dating to the late 1990s.