Police: Would-Be Car Thief Shot Dead By Retired Correction Officer In Queens
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - What started as an attempted car theft ended in fatal gunfire Wednesday afternoon in Queens.
According to police, a woman who had previously reported her car missing spotted her silver Lexus SUV on the street.
Two men bailed out of the vehicle at 138th Avenue and 225th Street.
The two ran into the backyard of a retired correction officer's home at 138th Avenue and 227th Street in Queens Village at 1:30 p.m.
The retired officer, 58, confronted them, pulling a pistol and ordering the men to the ground, police said.
The men complied, and then one jumped to his feet and hit the retired correction officer in the head with what is believed to be a pistol.
The correction officer fired, hitting one suspect in the head. Medics rushed the suspect to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The second suspect ran away but was caught a short time later in a nearby abandoned home.
The retired correction officer called 911. Emergency responders rushed the man who was shot in the head to Jamaica Hospital. Police say he's not likely to survive.
Police officers recovered a revolver that didn't belong to the correction officer at the scene.
"I saw all the commotion and they told me I couldn't come down the block," said neighbor Kirsten Amereno. She speaks highly of the correction officer. "He's a sweet man. I mean, I don't think he would do anything to harm anyone. For many years, he's been on this block for many years and never bothered anyone."
