Harlem Armed Robbery Suspects Shot At By Off-Duty Cop, Police Say

EAST HARLEM, NY — An off-duty police detective shot at two men who had just committed an armed robbery on an East Harlem street Monday morning, according to NYPD officials.

The chaotic scene began around 11:30 a.m., as a worker in the neighborhood was walking from his job site to the corner of East 122nd Street and Park Avenue, NYPD Chief of Department Kenneth Corey told reporters at the scene.

As the man approached the corner, a tan GMC Terrain SUV pulled alongside him and two men got out, wearing black face masks and hoods, Corey said. The men robbed the victim at gunpoint, snatching some money and a wristwatch, according to police.

An off-duty NYPD detective happened to be walking by on Park Avenue and witnessed the robbery, Corey said. He drew his service pistol, identified himself to the suspects and ordered them not to move, according to Corey.

When one of the masked men turned toward him with a firearm in his hand, the detective fired one gunshot at the pair — causing them to drop their pistol and start running eastbound along East 122nd Street, Corey said.

Police did not say whether either man was hit.

At the corner of Third Avenue, the men got back into the SUV, which sped off along the Willis Avenue Bridge and into the Bronx, according to police. Police recovered the suspects' gun, a .380 caliber semiautomatic pistol, Corey said.

It did not appear that the two men fired any gunshots at the detective, according to Corey. The robbery victim was also unhurt.

The detective who fired the gunshot is a 12-year department veteran who is assigned to the NYPD's firearm suppression division, Corey said.

"He spends his nights going after the worst of the worst, the most violent in our community, those who carry and use illegal handguns against our citizens," Corey said.

Police are now looking for the two masked men, plus a third person driving the getaway car, according to Corey.