An NYPD sergeant was rushed to the hospital for a serious head wound following a “violent struggle” between the cop and a trigger-happy suspect involved in a Bronx domestic robbery Thursday night, police said.
Cops received a call from a father who said his adult son had robbed his mother and older brother at gunpoint at a residence around 9:16 p.m. on Van Nest Avenue, Chief of Patrol Philip Rivera said in a press conference early Friday.
The father told responding officers he believed his son had fled to a building near Paulding Avenue and East Gun Hill Road — sending police to barricade the residence, Rivera said.
The NYPD sergeant was injured while responding to a domestic incident in the Bronx on Thursday night. Christopher Sadowski
After knocking on the door, the 18-year-old suspect denied he was involved in the robbery — though his father recognized his voice, according to police and sources.
As officers attempted to keep the door closed while waiting for additional authorities to arrive, the gunman fired three shots from inside the building and attempted to flee out the front door, where a violent struggle ensued as cops tried to take him into custody, Rivera added.
The officer’s condition was not immediately clear. Christopher Sadowski
The unidentified sergeant fell back and struck his head during the fight, causing him to suffer a serious head injury, police said.
An officer then shot at the 18-year-old gunman in the hallway of the building — striking him once in the lower back and once in the right arm, cops and sources said.
The cop was brought to Jacobi Medical Center and is in stable condition, police confirmed.
The suspect was also taken to Jacobi Medical Center and is in critical condition, cops said.
The trigger-happy teen has a “significant violent criminal history,” Rivera added.
A firearm and a bag were recovered at the scene, and police discovered spent shell casings and ballistic damage to a window inside the residence, authorities said.
“Once again, our cops walked into a very dangerous domestic situation where they did not know what was on the other side of that door,” Rivera told reporters.
NYPD officers took one suspect into custody. Christopher Sadowski
“Thankfully, our officers were able to apprehend the suspect, and our injured officer is expected to make a full recovery,” he said.
Residents recalled hearing the loud boom of gunshots reverberate through the apartment building during the altercation.
“I was on the couch and all of a sudden the whole floor shook with two gunshots,” Angela Bermudez, 23, told The Post.
“Everybody came outside in the hallway. Everybody was trying to figure out what happened. Next thing you know, we heard police sirens.”
She immediately called her husband, Josiah Bermudez, who was dropping off their 3-year-old son with his grandparents, after she heard shots being fired.
Josiah, 25, rushed home and was told by officers he would have to wait to enter the building as authorities processed the scene.
Neither the wounded cop’s nor the suspect’s identities were released by police.
Additional reporting by Tina Moore