NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — Two NYPD sergeants were shot in the Lower East Side on Thursday afternoon when they responded to a robbery at a local mahjong parlor, and the alleged gunman is now in custody, authorities said.
Police received a 911 call at 4:15 p.m. reporting a robbery at 91 Canal St., near Eldridge Street. The caller said that a man at the location was armed and robbing women.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny identified the second floor of the building as a mahjong parlor, and said that surveillance video shows the suspect arriving on the floor, pulling out a gun, pointing it at multiple women and stealing their purses.
When police arrived at the scene, witnesses said that the suspect fled northbound toward Delancey Street. Minutes later, canvassing officers spotted a man fitting the description of the suspect in front of 167 Eldridge St.
Kenny identified the suspect as Joshua Dorsett, 22, a resident of Two Bridges.
The two uniformed sergeants stopped Dorsett and were holding him against a car when, according to police, he began to pull a loaded firearm from out of his front pants pocket.
“A struggle begins for the possession of the gun between Dorsett and the two sergeants, and a shot is fired by the perpetrator,” Kenny said. “One sergeant is struck in the groin, one sergeant is struck in the left leg. We have one bullet that hit both cops.”
After they were shot, the sergeants and responding officers restrained the suspect. Dorsett, who Kenny said is a member of the “Up the Hill” gang, was taken into custody and a .45 caliber Taurus semi-automatic pistol was recovered.
The sergeants—one of which has served the NYPD for 16 years and the other for 11 years—were transported to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue in stable condition.
The sergeant with the graze wound to the leg was treated and will be released Thursday night, police said. The other sergeant who was struck in the groin will be held overnight for observation.
“Your officers confronted a violent criminal, who had no problem carrying an illegal gun on our streets,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said. “And as a result, two of our officers are in the hospital with gunshot wounds, and they're lucky to be alive.”
Dorsett has three prior arrests, the most previous of which was in 2022 for criminal possession of a controlled substance in Manhattan. He is currently on probation, and checked in with his probation officer earlier Thursday, police said.
Police said that Dorsett lived a half-mile from the mahjong parlor, making it a known target.
“Sometimes there is money exchanged during these games, and he's from the neighborhood,” Kenny said. “So he would have known that.”
Multiple officials said that the sergeants were in “good spirits,” thanked them for their service and thanked the staff at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue.
“It takes courage to put on that uniform every day and to go out and face those who want to harm innocent New Yorkers,” Mayor Eric Adams said. “To put your life at risk for others, to answer the calls of service, and to respond and walk, run towards danger as people move away from it.”
The investigation is ongoing.