Off-duty NYPD officer shot in robbery attempt; 2 arrested

NEW YORK (AP) — An off-duty New York City police officer was shot in the shoulder late Tuesday on his way to work in what authorities said was an apparent robbery attempt.

The officer, who was expected to recover, was the sixth NYPD officer to be shot so far this year, a startling tally that incudes two officers fatally wounded last month in a Harlem apartment.

According to police, the 22-year-old officer was sitting at a traffic light in his personal vehicle after 10 p.m. in the Rockaway section of Queens when two men approached. One tapped on his window with a gun. When the officer got out of the car, one man fired several shots, striking him in the shoulder, police said at a news conference early Wednesday.

The officer fired back but did not injure either of the men, who fled on foot. Police said other officers heard the gunshots and came to render aid.

A team of responding officers then came under fire as they tried to stop two men three blocks away, police said.

One bullet struck the rear bumper of an unmarked police vehicle. Police said that the officers did not fire back and that the men again fled on foot. The officers gave chase, and the men were arrested a short time later. Officers also recovered a gun at the scene.

Authorities arrested Chad Collie, 19, of Queens, on charges including attempted murder. Jayare Robinson, 18, of Queens, faces a robbery charge. Information on any attorneys for them was not available.

The wounded officer was stable after surgery at Jamaica Hospital.

Mayor Eric Adams said at an early morning news conference the officers showed a “great level of restraint” by not firing back at the suspects.

“When these two individuals shot at a passenger driving a car, they didn’t shoot at a police officer, they shot at a civilian. And then to find out that they shot at police officers, it sent a message. They had no regard of who they were trying to kill,” Adams said.

The shooting came as New York police paid tribute to one of two young officers killed by gunfire while answering a call for help Jan. 21 in Harlem. Officer Wilbert Mora’s funeral was held Wednesday morning at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

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This story has been corrected to show that the robbery attempt occurred Tuesday, not Monday, and that Officer Wilbert Mora and another officer were shot Jan. 21, not Jan. 22.