NEW YORK—A New York Police Department officer was shot in the chest early Thursday morning while patrolling a housing project on the Lower East Side. The bullet was stopped by his bulletproof vest. The suspect is still on the loose.
At approximately 3:40 a.m., Officer Brian Groves, 30, and his partner were patrolling the Seward Park Extension building at 64 Essex St.
Groves opened a stairwell door on the 22nd floor, when he allegedly saw a suspect holding a silver handgun. He yelled to his partner, and then chased the suspect down several flights of stairs. While between the 18th and 19th floors, the suspect turned and fired a single shot.
Groves returned four shots, and continued to chase the suspect before collapsing on the 15th floor. It is unknown if the gunman was hit by Groves’s bullets.
“The shooter, who shot from about 8 feet away, hit [Groves] right in the middle of the chest—but his bullet-resistant jacket or vest saved his life,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at an event in Queens Thursday morning.
