A 22-year-old suspected gang member shot two police sergeants after allegedly robbing several women at gunpoint, according to a report from the New York Post.
The suspect was identified as Joshua Dorsett who was taken into custody at the scene of the police shooting. Dorsett allegedly fired one shot that hit the first officer in the groin and passed through to graze the second officer on his left leg. Both officers were transported to a hospital and are expected to survive.
The suspect is reportedly affiliated with a gang named “Up the Hill” and has three prior arrests, including one for criminal possession of a controlled substance. He was out on probation and visited his probation officer the morning of the shooting.
Before the shooting ensued, Dorsett reportedly robbed multiple women at gunpoint, NYPD Chief of Detectives told the Post. Victims told responding officers that Dorsett fled and the officers encountered the suspect within seven minutes of responding.
Dorsett reportedly resisted police restraints and later pulled out a gun from his waistband. Neither officer returned fire, despite being shot. Backup officers were able to restrain Dorsett and take him into custody, per the Post. Police say they recovered a 45 Taurus semi-automatic pistol at the scene.
Among the injured sergeants is a 43-year-old who served in the NYPD for 16 years. The second officer, whose leg was grazed by the bullet, was identified as 34-year-old Christopher Leap. He served in the NYPD for 11 years.
Leap was released from the hospital to a crowd of officers cheering and applauding as he was wheeled to a bus in a wheelchair. The other officer remained in the hospital overnight.
Mayor Eric Adams praised the duo during a press briefing following the shooting. “To put your life at risk for others, to answer the calls of service and to respond and walk, run towards danger as people move away from it,” Adams said.
