Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch: Good afternoon. I am here to brief on a barricaded perpetrator incident that resulted in one police officer being shot in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. The information that I'm about to provide is preliminary and it is subject to change. At approximately 5:45 this morning, officers from the 79th precinct responded to 190 Kosciuszko Street after a neighbor called 911 to report hearing approximately seven shots fired inside a two-story brownstone.
Upon arrival, officers from the 79th Precinct heard additional gunfire coming from inside of the residence. Patrol officers attempted to make contact with the individual inside. After receiving no response, they made entry into the location where they observed a male holding a firearm. Officers withdrew from the residence at that time and requested additional specialized resources. At that time, the subject's wife and his son were able to safely exit the location. They relayed to police at the scene that the subject has a history of mental illness. Neither was injured. However, there was an elderly couple that was unable to exit one floor above. Members of the Emergency Service Unit, the Hostage Negotiation Team, TARU, SRG and additional personnel from the 79th Precinct responded to the scene; established a perimeter; and evacuated adjoining residences for more than two hours.
Both hostage negotiators and the family made multiple attempts to establish a dialog with the perpetrator. Officers were able to get in touch with the elderly couple on the second floor of the residence and instructed them to lock their bedroom door. Around 8:30 a.m., the subject began throwing large items out of the rear window into the backyard below where our officers were staged. These items included a microwave, a lamp, pots and pans and other kitchen goods. Drone footage at the time showed the perpetrator clearly holding a handgun in his left hand. He continued to fire rounds from inside the apartment. No officers were struck at that time. At 8:52 a.m., officers from the Emergency Service Unit enter the location and encounter the individual at the top of the stairs, on the same floor as the elderly couple, armed with a firearm. Officers gave multiple direct orders to drop the gun, but he refused. The perpetrator fired at our officers, striking one officer in the leg. At least four officers returned fire, striking the perpetrator. He was transported to Woodhull Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
Over the course of the incident, the perpetrator fired approximately 20 rounds from inside of the residence. The incident was captured on police body-worn camera and via multiple drones. Two firearms were recovered at the scene, a Beretta handgun equipped with an extended magazine and a Jimenez Arms .380 caliber handgun. The officer who was shot is 15-year veteran detective Matthew Gale of the Emergency Service Unit. Detective Gale was immediately removed [from] the scene and transported here to Kings County Hospital where he is being treated for a gunshot wound that resulted in a tibial fracture of the left leg. He is currently in stable condition.
I just visited with Detective Gale and his wife, and I want to thank the doctors, the nurses and the staff at Kings County Hospital for the care that they are providing to him. I am grateful to report that Detective Gale was in good spirits, and we are praying for a full and speedy recovery. The perpetrator is identified as 48-year-old Lamin Simmons. At this point in the investigation, we believe this incident began as a dispute involving the elderly couple on the second floor. What happened this morning is a reminder that the men and women of the NYPD routinely place themselves between danger and the people that they serve. They enter situations that are uncertain and volatile and often life-threatening. This morning, Detective Gale put his life on the line doing exactly that. I want to thank every cop who responded, particularly members of our Emergency Service Unit.
We like to say that when the public needs help, they call the police, and when the police need help, they call ESU. ESU handles some of the most complex and dangerous assignments in this city, and today, once again, they met that danger with uncommon valor. I'm now going to turn it over to Mayor Mamdani.
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: Thank you, Commissioner Tisch. As you just heard from my police commissioner, earlier this morning, an NYPD officer was shot while responding to a call of shots fired on Kosciuszko Street between Marcy and Tompkins Avenue in Bed-Stuy. The officer was in the leg, and as you heard, is currently being treated here at Kings County Hospital. I just visited with his wife in the hospital, and I am grateful that he is expected to survive, and I'm grateful to all of the incredible nurses and doctors and staff here at Kings County Hospital for doing everything that they can.
The alleged perpetrator was shot on the scene and has since died. The first 911 call came in right before 6 a.m. The first officer on scene responded soon after, and the ESU officer who was wounded this morning responded to his call. I want to thank every person involved at each step of this incident, every professional who responded to an immensely challenging situation with professionalism and with calmness. Every day, thousands of NYPD officers go to great lengths to protect their fellow New Yorkers. What this officer from ESU did this morning, Detective Matthew Gale, is what so many officers do each morning. He put on his uniform, he left his house, he said goodbye to his family, and he went to his job to keep our city safe.
When New Yorkers call 9-1-1, they expect someone to show up. What this officer and so many others today did was exactly that. I want to thank the first responders and the officers who acted so swiftly in the aftermath of this shooting, and I know that all New Yorkers will join me in wishing Detective Gale a full and speedy recovery. Thank you very much.
Question: Commissioner, were of the two of these guns fired, were you aware? Also, was there, in the process of negotiating with the suspect, were there demands that he was making, or did he say anything about the nature of the dispute?
Commissioner Tisch: So, we do not know which of the weapons was fired. We do know that there was a weapon that was fired, but we don't know if it is the two that we are showing there. We assume that it was, and I believe that the hostage negotiation team was unable to make contact with the subject having called him several times.
[Crosstalk.]
Question: Had the suspect had a prior interaction with the police? And then, apart from that, did he [inaudible]?
Commissioner Tisch: There is no documented EDP history with the NYPD.
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