NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A 19-year-old man with a gun who was shot and wounded by police on a ramp near the George Washington Bridge in Manhattan early Thursday morning had a suicide note in which he apologized to cops for what was about to happen, the NYPD said.
No officers were shot in the altercation, but several were taken to a hospital to be checked out, NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said at a news conference near the scene in Washington Heights.
"This is the second time in four days our officers responded to 911 call to assist people [and] were immediately placed under some sort of attack and had to defend themselves," Chell said, referring to Sunday's incident in Queens in which a knife-wielding man fatally stabbed four family members and attacked two responding officers before he was fatally shot by police.
Thursday's confrontation started around 2:55 a.m. as uniformed officers from the 33rd Precinct responded to multiple calls about a disabled and possibly stolen vehicle on a ramp to the Henry Hudson Parkway, just south of the bridge near West 177th Street and Haven Avenue.
Police investigate at the scene of the officer-involved shooting.Glenn Schuck/X
As two officers approached the vehicle—one towards a male driver and the other towards a female passenger—the driver bolted out with a gun in his hand.
"The door opens up, a male Hispanic, 19 years old, wearing a mask, jumps out of the car in possession of a firearm," Chell said.
The chief said officers were forced to defend themselves and discharge their service weapons. They fired eight shots in total, striking the man twice in the chest.
He suffered critical injuries but was expected to survive after going into surgery at a hospital.
Chell said investigators haven't yet determined if the suspect fired any shots, though the gun was recovered at the scene.
The female in the car, who was uninjured, is the suspect's 18-year-old ex-girlfriend, according to officials, and it appears he was upset about a recent breakup. He had gone to her home and threatened to kill himself before she got in the car with him.
The man was in possession of a handwritten note suggesting he wanted to die by suicide at the hands of police, Chell said, adding the note included an apology to police officers.
"Inside that vehicle, we do have a note indicating that the individual wanted to commit suicide for various things going on in his life, but he also apologizes to our cops for what was about to happen," the chief said.
The ex-girlfriend was taken to the precinct stationhouse, where she was cooperating with investigators and "giving us some insight into what happened," Chell said.
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