NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – An NYPD officer was shot and wounded in Brooklyn on Wednesday night by a gunman who police believe had opened fire on a group of three men in an SUV minutes earlier, killing one of them.
The 28-year-old officer—later identified as four-year veteran Brian McGurran—was shot three times, with his bulletproof vest stopping one of the rounds, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said at a press conference early Thursday morning.
"It's by the grace of God that we are not about to start planning for a second funeral in one month," Shea said, referring to an NYPD officer who was struck and killed on the Long Island Expressway in Queens in late April.
Wednesday night's shootings started when two officers and a sergeant in an unmarked police car were patrolling the 83rd Precinct in uniform.
At 11:11 p.m., they responded to a report of shots fired about five blocks away from them at Madison Street and Broadway on the border of Bushwick and Stuyvesant Heights.
Shea said review of video from the scene shows a gunman running up to a white BMW SUV occupied by three men and firing into it. Five shell casings were recovered at the scene.
A short time later, the SUV crashed, Shea said. A 28-year-old passenger was shot in the torso and died at Woodhull Medical Center. The 21-year-old driver suffered gunshot wounds to his torso and leg and was taken to Kings County Hospital in critical condition. A third man, 22, was not injured.
Officer and Suspect Injured in Bushwick Shootout @CitizenApp
Madison St & Broadway Yesterday 11:13:18 PM EDT
Shea said all three men are gang members known to police and have an extensive arrest history with open gun cases.
About four minutes later and five blocks away, the officers and sergeant in the unmarked police car encountered a man "walking briskly" and "blading his body" near Saratoga Park at Macon Street and Howard Avenue, Shea said.
"The officers stop their unmarked auto, get out to investigate, and immediately the male pulls a firearm, turns on the officers and begins to shoot," Shea said, cautioning that all information was preliminary.
One officer fired 12 rounds and the other officer fired nine rounds, Shea said. The sergeant did not fire.
The officer that fired nine rounds was struck three times—once in the vest, once in the right leg and once in the buttocks.
Shea said the officer's vest stopped one of the rounds.
"The officer, thank God, is here. He is well and he is expected to make a full recovery," Shea said from Kings County Hospital, where he was joined by Mayor Bill de Blasio.
"Thank God our officer will make a full recovery," de Blasio said. "I want to thank everyone at Kings County Hospital who has been taking care of him in a very, very devoted way."
Officer McGurran joined the NYPD in 2017. His brother is also an officer, and their father is a retired city detective. He is married and lives on Long Island.
The suspected gunman was struck one time in the leg and apprehended at the scene, Shea said, identifying him as a 26-year-old gang member. He was later identified as Boyce Hayward.
A gun was recovered at the scene, Shea said. Police are investigating whether the shooting of the men in the SUV and the police-involved shooting are connected.
