NYPD officer and innocent bystander shot in the leg by repeat offender who was killed

NEW YORK CITY, NY - On Tuesday, November 19th, a New York Police Department (NYPD) officer and an innocent bystander were both shot in Queens. The alleged suspect, who was armed, was fatally shot.

According to CBS News, the incident began around 5:35 p.m. when officers responded to a 911 call reporting a robbery in progress at a bodega on Hillside Avenue. The alleged suspect was threatening workers and customers with a firearm, and he fired off one shot. Upon arriving on scene, the armed suspect was gone, but witnesses provided police with a description of the suspect that was then broadcasted over police radios.

Police said officers were canvassing in the area just before 6:30 p.m. when they were flagged down by a witness who pointed out a man who had allegedly just robbed a smoke shop on Guy Brewer Boulevard. Police said one shot was fired during that robbery as well. Police said that the man fit the description of the suspect from the previous robbery at the bodega.

NYPD Officer Rich Wong and his partner approached the man near 161st Street and Jamaica Avenue. They asked him to stop, but the man started running and pulled out a firearm. Police said the two officers ordered the suspect to drop the gun, but instead, the suspect fired one shot, striking Wong in the thigh. Wong was able to return fire, striking the suspect in the face. The suspect, since identified as 57-year-old Gary Worthy, was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Wong was taken to a local hospital to be treated for his gunshot wound. CBS News reported that on Wednesday morning, November 20th, Wong was released from the hospital and was greeted by a sea of officers who applauded as he left. Wong, who is 36-years-old, is expected to make a full recovery. He has been with the NYPD for seven years. The NYPD credits his partner for saving his life by swiftly rushing him to the hospital.

Police said a 26-year-old woman was also shot in the leg. She was taken to the hospital as well to be treated and is expected to make a full recovery. As of this writing, she remains in the hospital. Worthy had 17 prior arrests, including for murder, robbery, burglary, and narcotics possession. Police said that he was on a lifetime parole for firearms possession. He was arrested six days prior to this incident for possession of felony narcotics and resisting arrest, yet instead of remaining behind bars, he was released on his own recognizance.

Police said that since Worthy was placed on lifetime parole in 2021, he has been arrested seven times. Police said that Worthy was also wanted for three additional gunpoint robberies in which shots were fired that occurred on Halloween and November 15th.

In a statement, Mayor Eric Adams said, "We are grateful tonight, but we are also angry. We're angry because we have witnessed in two days a criminal justice system that is failing New Yorkers and the good people of this city. Angry that a violent repeated offender who has prior gun arrests, who plead guilty to manslaughter and who was arrested for seven crimes since [2021] alone was free to commit two robberies tonight."

Interim NYPD Commissioner Tom Donlon said, "I want to be very clear, yet again, a violent criminal with absolutely no regard for human life decided to open fire on an NYPD officer in the middle of a busy New York City street. This extreme recklessness resulted in injuries to our officer and cost the suspect his life." Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said, "You look at someone's record. He was arrested 17 times. He's a danger to society. He was arrested for a murder - a murder out of those 17. The he gets arrested seven times while on lifetime parole. Something's wrong with the system."