Police confirm a 27-year-old man has been shot by police following a pursuit on Thursday, Jan. 20 in Wakefield. EMS transported the victim to hospital where he later died.

 

NYPD Chief Kenneth Corey and other NYPD officials held a press conference at the scene to update the media on the event, advising that the investigation was still in the early stages and the information provided was preliminary.

 

Corey said that at 1.30 p.m., uniformed police officers from the 47th precinct responded to a burglary in progress on the first floor of a building in the vicinity of East 224th Street and Bronx Boulevard in the Wakefield section of the Bronx. A resident came home and discovered the burglary in progress.

 

On arrival within minutes, according to police, they encountered a male carrying a gun. They said the man refused to comply with the responding officers’ requests to drop the gun. One of the police officers deployed his taser in an effort to disarm the man, who then entered a bedroom, fired two shots, broke a window and fled the location through the window, still with a gun in his hand. A pursuit ensued by responding back-up officers on the street, across a park, winding up next to the Bronx River. Corey said police repeatedly ordered the man to drop his gun.

 

At that point, Corey said the man turned towards the police with the gun in his hand, at which point three officers shot him, striking him in the torso and arm. Corey said the suspect then fled into the Bronx River.

 

Corey said police removed the man from the river and immediately began to render first aid. EMS arrived on the scene within minutes and took over medical care. The man was taken to a Jacobi hospital where, according to Corey, despite the best efforts of the medical staff, he later succumbed to his injuries. Officers were also taken to the hospital for a medical evaluation.

 

Police said a 9 mm pistol was recovered from the Bronx River, in which there were three rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. The investigation continues.

 

Police said the man has three prior arrests in New York City, two for felonies and one for a misdemeanor. The two felonies are still pending in court.

Watch as @NYPDChiefofdept provides an update on the police involved shooting in the @nypd47pct. https://t.co/eC3eVhrpYs

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) January 20, 2022

According to a report by the Staten Island Advance, former borough commander, Corey, was recently appointed chief of department, the highest-ranking uniformed position within the NYPD.

 

The link to the press conference is above.

 

The situation remains active and police are appealing to witnesses to come forward with any information they may have.

 

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on Twitter @NYPDTips.

 

All calls are strictly confidential.