PseudoCop
10-22-2008, 02:47 PM
2 COPS SHOT IN WILD QNS. SUBWAY MELEE (http://www.nypost.com/seven/10222008/news/regionalnews/2_cops_shot_in_wild_qns__subway_melee_134742.htm)
By MURRAY WEISS and LARRY CELONA
A fare-beater caught sneaking into a Queens subway last night coldly shot two cops with one of their own guns after he knocked them to the station-platform floor, authorities said.
The gunman then bolted - weapon still blazing at the wounded Anti Crime transit cops - and ran into a lieutenant who dodged the suspect's bullets and pumped four of his own into him.
The heart-pounding, rush-hour shootout at 5:15 p.m. had straphangers ducking for cover at the F-train station at 21st Street/Queensbridge in Long Island City.
The shower of bullets lasted less than a minute, Commissioner Ray Kelly said.
Undercover Officer Shane Farina, 38, was critically wounded by a bullet that slammed into his side below his bulletproof vest, but he is expected to survive.
Partner Jason Maass, 28, also wearing a vest, was grazed in the back and was expected to go home today.
"Two brave police officers were shot by a suspect they were attempting to apprehend in the course of doing their job keeping us all safe," Mayor Bloomberg said at Elmhurst Hospital, where he, Kelly and Queens District Attorney Richard Brown rushed to comfort the heroes and their families.
"This could have been so much worse. These officers are very lucky," Bloomberg added.
Suspect Raul Nuņez, 32 - who sneaked back into the United State after he was deported to his native Dominican Republic in 2001 for a 1997 drug conviction - was at Bellevue Hospital with gunshot wounds to the legs and torso. He faces attempted-murder charges.
The crackling burst of violence occurred after Nuņez swiped a student MetroCard, setting off an alarm in the token booth on the upper level where Lt. Gary Abrahall was stationed, authorities said.
Abrahall radioed Maass and Farina about the fare-beater, and the two cops grabbed Nuņez and got one handcuff on him. He immediately began to struggle, and knocked them to the ground.
In the scuffle, a source said, Maass' gun fell to the platform and Nuņez grabbed it. He then stood over the two cops and fired two pointblank shots at them, a source said.
Racing from the bloodshed, Nuņez headed up an escalator, turning back to fire another shot at the wounded cops. But Abrahall was waiting at the top. Though Nuņez fired three times at the lieutenant, he missed, and Abrahall hit Nuņez four times.
Later in custody, another source said, Nuņez "indicated that he was afraid of being deported. He had been deported once before and he was afraid of going back."
Maass' mother-in-law, Diane Bencivenga, said Jason's wife, Lorraine, was staying strong.
"She said she spoke to him and he's OK - I'm praying for [Farina].
"Jason's always there for his friends when they need him," she said. "I couldn't ask for a better son-in-law."
Bystanders were not shocked at the violence.
"In this neighborhood this always happens. It's usually between the drug dealers," said Basheer Alomari, 33.
Malcolm Dewer, 32, said the shooting aftermath was "surreal."
"Cops were jumping out of cars before they even stopped," he said.
Additional reporting by John Doyle, Tom Liddy, Erin Calabrese and Eric Shilling
By MURRAY WEISS and LARRY CELONA
A fare-beater caught sneaking into a Queens subway last night coldly shot two cops with one of their own guns after he knocked them to the station-platform floor, authorities said.
The gunman then bolted - weapon still blazing at the wounded Anti Crime transit cops - and ran into a lieutenant who dodged the suspect's bullets and pumped four of his own into him.
The heart-pounding, rush-hour shootout at 5:15 p.m. had straphangers ducking for cover at the F-train station at 21st Street/Queensbridge in Long Island City.
The shower of bullets lasted less than a minute, Commissioner Ray Kelly said.
Undercover Officer Shane Farina, 38, was critically wounded by a bullet that slammed into his side below his bulletproof vest, but he is expected to survive.
Partner Jason Maass, 28, also wearing a vest, was grazed in the back and was expected to go home today.
"Two brave police officers were shot by a suspect they were attempting to apprehend in the course of doing their job keeping us all safe," Mayor Bloomberg said at Elmhurst Hospital, where he, Kelly and Queens District Attorney Richard Brown rushed to comfort the heroes and their families.
"This could have been so much worse. These officers are very lucky," Bloomberg added.
Suspect Raul Nuņez, 32 - who sneaked back into the United State after he was deported to his native Dominican Republic in 2001 for a 1997 drug conviction - was at Bellevue Hospital with gunshot wounds to the legs and torso. He faces attempted-murder charges.
The crackling burst of violence occurred after Nuņez swiped a student MetroCard, setting off an alarm in the token booth on the upper level where Lt. Gary Abrahall was stationed, authorities said.
Abrahall radioed Maass and Farina about the fare-beater, and the two cops grabbed Nuņez and got one handcuff on him. He immediately began to struggle, and knocked them to the ground.
In the scuffle, a source said, Maass' gun fell to the platform and Nuņez grabbed it. He then stood over the two cops and fired two pointblank shots at them, a source said.
Racing from the bloodshed, Nuņez headed up an escalator, turning back to fire another shot at the wounded cops. But Abrahall was waiting at the top. Though Nuņez fired three times at the lieutenant, he missed, and Abrahall hit Nuņez four times.
Later in custody, another source said, Nuņez "indicated that he was afraid of being deported. He had been deported once before and he was afraid of going back."
Maass' mother-in-law, Diane Bencivenga, said Jason's wife, Lorraine, was staying strong.
"She said she spoke to him and he's OK - I'm praying for [Farina].
"Jason's always there for his friends when they need him," she said. "I couldn't ask for a better son-in-law."
Bystanders were not shocked at the violence.
"In this neighborhood this always happens. It's usually between the drug dealers," said Basheer Alomari, 33.
Malcolm Dewer, 32, said the shooting aftermath was "surreal."
"Cops were jumping out of cars before they even stopped," he said.
Additional reporting by John Doyle, Tom Liddy, Erin Calabrese and Eric Shilling