NYPD officer shot in Queens, expected to survive

An investigation is underway in Jamaica, Queens after a 22-year-old cop only three months into the job was shot in the hip Wednesday afternoon, police said.

The incident happened just before 3:30 p.m. near the intersection of Jamaica Avenue and 161st Street, according to the NYPD. Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said the rookie cop was flagged down by a citizen before he was shot by a suspect who remained on the loose.

“New Yorkers, you are our force multiplier,” Sewell said. “We are going to need your assistance in identifying and apprehending this offender. He should be considered armed and dangerous.”

NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said it was a city bus driver who requested the officer’s help because of a dispute between two passengers on board. A struggle ensued, ultimately resulting in the suspect firing one shot into the officer’s right hip, Essig said.

The officer’s partner returned fire twice before the suspect fled northbound on 161st Street and westbound on 88th Avenue into a nearby parking garage, Essig said. Cops recovered the suspect’s black bubble jacket, a mask they were wearing and an orange sweatshirt. Officers were asking the public’s help in finding the suspect on Wednesday evening, offering up a $10,000 reward for any information that could lead to an arrest.

Police said the officer was taken to Jamaica Hospital and was expected to survive.

Mayor Eric Adams, a former NYPD officer himself, spoke with the wounded officer’s parents at Jamaica Hospital on Wednesday evening.

“One of them is a member of the department,” Adams said. “The mom whispered in my ear, she stated, ‘I recalled at the graduation ceremony how you talked about [how] your mother exhaled for the first time after you retired. She’s still holding her breath.”

This story has been updated with new information.