1 Dead, NYPD Officer Hospitalized After Woodside Shootout: NYPD

WOODSIDE, QUEENS — Hundreds of concertgoers were suddenly told to clear out of a Woodside club in the early hours of Wednesday morning, after a police officer and three people exchanged fatal gunshots on the street outside, according to the NYPD and sources.

Around 3:15 a.m. police received a call that an off-duty NYPD lieutenant was shot on the corner of 57th Street and Northern Boulevard, near La Boom nightclub, records show.

The block quickly filled with sirens and first responders, who rushed the police officer and one other person believed to be involved in the shooting to Elmhurst Hospital.

The suspect — who was shot in the chest and stomach — later died at the hospital but the officer remained in critical and stable condition, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said. Neither people have been publicly identified.

The officer, however, was shot multiple times, and Shea said he is "lucky to be alive," adding that there would be a "very different outcome if not for the FDNY paramedics that did incredible work on the street to get him here, and Elmhurst hospital [staff]."

Speaking at a news conference reported on by CBSNY, Shea said that the incident was likely an attempted robbery.

Based on preliminary information, he believes that the officer was confronted by several armed people after he left the club, and then the group exchanged gunfire — at least eight shots were fired by the officer and nine by the suspects, said Shea, noting that these details could change.

According to officials, a semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine was found in front of the bar, and is believed to belong to one of the suspects.

In response to a question about what prompted the gunfire, Shea said he has "nothing about a dispute at this time."

The commissioner said, though, that the NYPD lieutenant might have been targeted for the jewelry he was wearing; there's reportedly a citywide pattern of people wearing jewelry being targeted after leaving night clubs, which the NYPD is "certainly" going to look at in regard to this case, Shea said.

This case remains under active investigation, with the NYPD still looking for two of the suspects, who they said were wearing full ski-like face masks at the time of the incident.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked by police to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). People can also submit tips online or on Twitter, @NYPDTips.

Watch the full news conference with Commissioner Shea here: