BROOKLYN, NY - A veteran New York Police Department (NYPD) detective just 10 days short of retirement was shot in the back early Sunday morning, July 5, after an armed 18-year-old ran up to his unmarked police car and opened fire.
The officer, Robert Karroll, a married dad of three, was saved by his bulletproof vest, authorities said. The alleged suspect was caught a few blocks away during a dramatic foot chase, according to the New York Post. The unidentified suspect was caught on surveillance footage moments earlier, pacing back and forth on Nostrand Avenue near St. Johns Place in Crown Heights around 4:15 a.m.
He then racked a round in his 9mm's chamber and ran up on the detective and three other cops who were inside a nearby unmarked black Kia SUV, according to authorities and the video footage.
Police are investigating whether the alleged gunman knew officers were in the vehicle when he rushed it. The officers were in uniform at the time. The 18-year-old sprayed their vehicle with gunfire, striking at least seven times and leaving bullet holes in the front and rear windshields as well as on the passenger side.
Three officers returned fire, but the suspect was not struck. Karroll was shot in the upper back while wearing his ballistic vest and thankfully suffered only minor injuries.
After the alleged suspect was caught, he resisted arrest and refused to be handcuffed. Officers used a Taser to gain compliance before taking him into custody. The young man does not have a rap sheet other than being pinched for lesser crimes such as shoplifting in Essex County, New Jersey, according to authorities.
Karroll was taken to a local hospital for treatment and is expected to make a full recovery. He is fewer than two weeks from retirement, sources close to the incident said. "Today that vest saved his life,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a press conference Sunday morning.
A second officer suffered bruises to her face and shoulder during the incident. A picture of the alleged weapon used, a SAR 9mm handgun, recovered from the scene, was shared by the NYPD on X.
The targeted officers had been reassigned to Brooklyn shortly after midnight as part of a stepped-up patrol for the NYPD's July 4 violence reduction plan. They had been working the Sail4th 250 event in Lower Manhattan on Saturday, July 4. Both of the wounded officers were with a sex-offender monitoring unit.
There is no body-worn camera video of Sunday's shooting because it happened quickly and unexpectedly, Tisch said.
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