A New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer was shot in the back early Sunday after an armed teenager allegedly opened fire on an unmarked police car in Crown Heights, authorities said.
The incident unfolded at approximately 04:10 a.m. near the intersection of Nostrand Avenue and St. Johns Place. Detective Robert Karroll, a married father of three assigned to the NYPD s*x offender monitoring unit, survived the attack because his ballistic vest absorbed the round. An 18-year-old male suspect is in custody following a brief foot pursuit.
Karoll and three fellow officers had just completed a gruelling 12-hour security detail for the Sail 4th 250 operation in Lower Manhattan before being reassigned to a violence-reduction initiative in Brooklyn. The team was sitting inside an unmarked Kia SUV when the armed suspect approached the car, prompting the officers to exit and attempt to engage him.
There was instant open firing as the suspect allegedly discharged multiple rounds at the plainclothes team. The exchange shattered the front and rear windshields of the cop car and blew out a rear passenger side window. Three officers returned fire during the encounter, though the suspect was not struck by the returned rounds. Unfortunately, Karroll was struck in the upper back.
“Today that vest saved his life,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during a press briefing. Tisch noted that the confrontation developed too quickly for the officers to activate their bodycams before the shooting began. However, the CCTV footage captured the suspect carrying a firearm one block north just five minutes prior.
The teen fled the scene, running several blocks west before officers cornered him near Rogers Avenue and Union Street. Investigators said the suspect actively resisted being handcuffed, forcing officers to deploy a Taser to subdue him. According to NY Post, reports confirm that the teen was carrying a SAR 9mm semi-automatic gun at the arrest scene, which ballistics units believe was used during the ambush.
Karroll was rushed to Kings County Hospital, where doctors treated him for a severe back contusion. A second police officer inside the car also received medical care for facial and shoulder contusions during the melee. Police sources confirm that Karroll was less than two weeks away from his scheduled retirement following a lengthy career with the department.
Officials noted that the ambush occurred on the exact ninth anniversary of the murder of NYPD Detective Miosotis Familia, who was shot and killed inside a mobile command post in the Bronx. The unnamed 18-year-old suspect remains in custody as formal charging documentation is prepared by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office.
Disclaimer: Inquisitr individually could not confirm the exact facts of the shooting and is reporting strictly based on the preliminary law enforcement briefings and information available.
