A New York City police detective and four children were injured in separate shootings in Brooklyn over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, authorities reported.
Detective Robert Karroll, assigned to the Sex Offender Monitoring Unit, was shot in the back of his ballistic vest early Sunday morning in Crown Heights. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated that Karroll was approaching an armed 18-year-old suspect when the incident occurred. The detective was transported to Kings County Hospital and is expected to recover fully. A second officer sustained contusions to the face and shoulder during the encounter.
Commissioner Tisch noted that the officers were in an unmarked vehicle near Nostrand Avenue and St. Johns Place around 4:14 a.m. when a person approached. The circumstances of the approach are still unclear due to the lack of body-worn camera footage, Tisch said, adding that the shooting happened quickly.
Officers exited the vehicle and attempted to engage the suspect, who was not struck by return fire, according to Tisch. The police vehicle sustained ballistic damage, with bullet holes observed in the front and rear windshields and the passenger side.
Following a foot chase, the suspect was apprehended several blocks away and resisted arrest before being taken into custody with the use of a taser. A 9mm firearm was recovered. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani expressed relief that Detective Karroll, a husband and father of three, was protected by his vest and not more seriously injured.
This shooting occurred hours after another incident in Coney Island where four children were among eight people wounded. The victims in the Coney Island shooting included two men, two women, and four children, aged 6 to 14. Seven victims were reported in stable condition, while a 21-year-old woman was in critical condition.
Commissioner Tisch indicated that the officers involved in the Crown Heights incident had been deployed to the area shortly before midnight as part of a plan to reduce Fourth of July violence, specifically targeting crew-related violence. Investigators are seeking surveillance footage from nearby businesses to clarify the events of the shooting.