2 NYPD officers shot in Brooklyn
NEW YORK - A man was taken into custody Tuesday after allegedly shooting two NYPD officers in Brooklyn.
The mayor says the suspect has a long rap sheet. The two officers are in the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Officials say the suspect was also shot. He is in critical but stable condition.
"As I'm entering the building, I hear shots -- pow, pow," neighbor Nova Fuller said.
NYPD officials say this all unfolded just before 3:30 p.m. when one sergeant and three officers responded to a call for a domestic assault in a second floor apartment at 19-69 Bergen St. near Saratoga Avenue.
The female victim was the mother of the suspect. Police say she was being assaulted by her son and complained of a head injury.
That man has been identified as 39-year-old Melvin Butler.
Watch: NYPD provides update on 2 officers shot in Brooklyn
A violent struggle with officers ensued when Butler was asked to put hands behind his back. There was a struggle for one of the officer's guns.
"Immediately as they're struggling, they're going to the ground, and then you hear an officer state, 'He has my gun,' and then shots are fired," NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenney said.
During that time both officers were shot; one was hit in the hand, the other in the leg.
Police say at least one officer returned fire. The suspect was hit in the leg and stomach.
"There's a suspect, there's blood, there's glass, and my kids start crying, so this is not even good for my kids to see," Fuller said.
Police say Butler had a history of domestic violence and resisting arrest. He has six priors in New York City and one in North Carolina. One of those priors is an attempted murder charge where he served 15 years in prison.
Law enforcement officials say the suspect was brazen.
"He thought nothing would happen to him. Our system is broken. At every step of way, our criminal justice system is broken, and it needs to change," Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said.
"This was a horrific incident, that because of their action, a dangerous person is apprehended and we have two officers that will be going home to their families," Mayor Eric Adams said.
"We're going to follow this case and make sure that this individual who shot two New York City police officers stays behind bars because we know cases like this before, the individual gets back out on the streets," Hendry said.
Police officials say this was a routine call for officers, and these are veterans. One has been with the NYPD nine-and-a-half years, the other, 16 years.
They are both expected to survive. Investigators are checking body-worn cameras for further evidence.
The suspect is in police custody in the hospital. Charges are pending.
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