A barricaded suspect died and a police officer was shot during a standoff in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. The confrontation unfolded over several hours before ending in an exchange of gunfire. A widespread police presence remained at the active scene as the morning went on.
According to police, the situation began around 5:45 this morning. Officers responded to a report of shots fired inside an apartment on Kosciuszko Street, in the area between a KFC and Tompkins Avenue. The early-morning call drew officers to the building in Bed-Stuy.
When police arrived, additional gunshots were observed at the scene, authorities said. Officers saw a man barricaded inside an apartment with a weapon. The discovery turned the call into a tense standoff in the residential neighborhood.
The New York Police Department's hostage negotiation team responded to the scene. According to police, officers tried to make contact with the suspect, who remained barricaded inside. The standoff stretched on for several hours.
At about nine o'clock this morning, the situation turned into a shootout. Police say the suspect fired a shot and an officer was struck in the leg. The exchange of gunfire brought the long standoff to a violent conclusion.
The wounded officer was transported to Kings County Hospital, according to police. Authorities said the officer was expected to be okay. The injury underscored the danger officers faced during the drawn-out confrontation.
The suspect was also taken to Kings County Hospital, where he later died from a gunshot wound, police said. Neighbors on the block expressed shock at what had happened, describing the man as someone they had known for years. Police continued to investigate exactly how the gunfire unfolded.