NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A Queens man was charged on Wednesday after he allegedly shot his building superintendent and got in an intense shootout with NYPD officers, prosecutors said.
William Hernandez, 65, allegedly confronted his building superintendent, Cruz Catana Velasquez, 48, with a 9mm gun on Nov. 22, at around 10 a.m.
Hernandez then allegedly forced Velasquez in an elevator at gunpoint for about an hour.
Velasquez was able to escape when Hernandez was distracted by people passing by. Velasquez ran to the nearby staircase and Hernandez fired shots at him, striking the victim in the shoulder, side and abdomen.
Police arrived at the scene and saw Hernandez firing shots across the street from a sixth-floor apartment window.
Officers confronted Hernandez, who was hiding with a gun and a standoff began. Hernandez fired constantly at officers who returned fire. No one was hit.
The standoff, which lasted about two and a half hours, ended when officers entered Hernandez's apartment and found him with a gunshot wound.
He was arrested and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Velasquez also underwent surgery for his gunshot wounds.
In a search of Hernandez's apartment, police recovered a loaded 9mm firearm.
Hernandez faces charges of attempted murder, kidnapping, assault, criminal possession of a weapon, and reckless endangerment.
If convicted, he faces up to 40 years in prison.
