An off-duty New York City police officer fired her service weapon at a group of men who were allegedly trying to steal a catalytic converter in the Hamilton Heights section of Manhattan early on Tuesday morning, setting off a large crime scene and a search for the suspects who got away. The incident happened at around 5:45 a.m., just before six o'clock, on West 148th Street, a busy residential block where neighbors said the events unfolded very quickly in front of them.
According to police, the chain of events began when a resident, described as the owner of a vehicle, flagged down the officer to alert her that three men were attempting to steal a catalytic converter. Investigators said it was not clear whether the officer was in uniform at the time or whether she and the resident were already known to one another, but she stopped to intervene after being waved down.
Authorities said the officer, a 31-year-old woman, initially pulled out her camera to record video of what was taking place rather than confronting the men directly. The situation escalated when the three suspects turned and approached her, grabbing at their waistbands in a way that suggested they might be reaching for a weapon, according to the account relayed by police.
At that point, officials said, the officer pushed her camera aside, drew her service weapon and fired several shots. A minivan parked on West 148th Street was left with a bullet hole in its windshield, and investigators said it may have been the vehicle the three men were trying to target, though that remained one of the unknowns as the investigation continued.
Residents who were out on the street as the sun came up described hearing the gunfire and then watching the scene erupt around them. People who had been working at a nearby building said they heard the shots, looked up to see a crowd of people running, and then watched as police flooded the area and sealed off the surrounding streets while officers searched for those involved.
The three suspects sped off in a BMW, turning right onto Broadway and heading northbound, witnesses said. The resulting crime scene stretched along Broadway from West 148th Street to West 150th Street as the NYPD continued to search for the men. Police asked anyone with information about the incident to contact Crime Stoppers, and as of the latest reports no one had been reported struck and no arrests had been announced.