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A 15-year veteran of the New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) emergency unit (ESU) was shot in the leg Friday morning during an hours-long standoff with a gun-toting man in Brooklyn, authorities said.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the incident happened around 5:45 a.m. local time when officers from the 79th Precinct responded to a 911 call reporting multiple shots fired at a two-story home in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
The gunman, identified as Lamin Simmons, 48, allegedly fired 20 rounds during the altercation, Tisch said.
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NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed that the shooter died at the hospital after police returned fire. (WNYW)
Drone footage allegedly captured Simmons holding a gun, and at around 8:30 a.m., he threw large items — including a microwave, a lamp and pots and pans — out the window at police stationed in the backyard below.
While Simmons’ wife and son escaped safely from the house and told police about his history of mental illness, the elderly couple remained trapped upstairs, Tisch said.
The police found out that the incident started because of a dispute between the couple.
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At 8:52 a.m., ESU officers entered the home and met Simmons at the top of the stairs, Tisch said. It is suspected that he ignored several direct instructions from the police to drop his gun and opened fire at the police, hitting detective Matthew Gale in the left leg.
At least four officers returned fire, shooting Simmons, who was taken to Woodhull Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.
FILE – The NYPD said the incident stemmed from an argument between an elderly couple living in the same house. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Investigators found two weapons at the scene: a Jimenez Arms .380 pistol and a Beretta handgun with an extended magazine, Tisch said.
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Simmons had no prior documented history with the NYPD.
Gale suffered a broken tibial but remains in stable and “good spirits” at Kings County Hospital, where he is expected to survive, according to authorities.
FILE – New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani wished an injured NYPD detective a speedy recovery. (Leonardo Munoz/AFP)
Tisch praised the injured detective and ESU for continuing to handle the city’s most volatile assignments, saying they “met that danger with extraordinary bravery.”
“What happened this morning is a reminder that the men and women of the NYPD often put themselves in harm’s way and the people they serve. They enter uncertain and volatile and often life-threatening situations,” Tisch said. “This morning, Detective Gale put his life on the line doing just that.”
“We like that if the public needs help, call the police, if the police need help, call ESU,” he continued. “Today, they met that danger again with extraordinary bravery.”
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The Mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, visited the hospital to thank the medical staff and praised Gale’s courage, saying, “He put on his uniform, left his house, said goodbye to his family, went to work to keep our city safe.”
“When people in New York call 911, they expect someone to come,” said Mamdani. “What is this policeman, and many others, [did] today was definitely the case. I want to thank the first responders and police officers who worked so quickly after this shooting, and I know that all New Yorkers will join me in wishing Detective Gale a full and speedy recovery. “
