An NYPD detective was shot twice in a friendly fire incident while responding to a carjacking Friday morning in Whitestone, Queens, authorities said.
It happened just before 9 a.m. near 21st Road and 144th Street, by Exit 15 of the Whitestone Expressway.
The detective was struck in the hand and leg, and was rushed to Jamaica Hospital. He was said to be conscious and alert as he was taken to the hospital and is undergoing surgery.
Officers on the scene after an NYPD officer was shot in Whitestone, Queens on Aug. 22, 2025.
CBS News New York
Suspect was on a carjacking spree, police say
Police said the suspect repeatedly tried to steal a car in the neighborhood before the shooting.
Surveillance video at the Mobil station on 20th Avenue and Parsons in Whitestone showed the suspect making what police say was his first attempt of the day to steal a car. A mechanic at the station ran to stop him.
“He pulled up the window. The window was going up, squeezing my face,” the mechanic said. “Somehow I grabbed the keys. I shut off the car and grabbed the keys.”
Two 911 calls described the suspect as potentially armed with a gun.
“We didn’t see a gun, but that’s what he tried to show, like he had a gun,” the mechanic said.
Witnesses said he approached another car at the Mobil station before walking off, eying another car across the street.
“My husband literally chased him in the middle of the street. We were right in the middle of the street and he started walking backwards,” a witness said. “I was on the phone with the cops the whole time, telling them that he was threatening to kill me, that I saw something, and he was threatening me and he was going to try to take my car.”
The suspect fled and was caught on camera a few blocks away, checking out a running vehicle outside the home of Robert Chen, whose son was in the passenger seat.
The 9-year-old boy who was in the car told CBS News New York the suspect approached him and asked, “Is this car push-to-start?”
“He see the vehicle is outside and he tried to look around, and then because my son was in the passenger seat, so that’s why he looked around. And then he saw me over there,” Chen said.
Chen said after the man spotted him, he asked him for a cigarette.
Next attempt resulted in the shooting
At around 8:52 a.m., a rideshare driver parked his Toyota Highlander by the service road of the Whitestone Expressway, police said. He was approached by a man who allegedly displayed what looked like a firearm to the driver.
The rideshare driver got out of the vehicle and was assaulted, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. The suspect then drove off as the driver called 911, but the driver still had the key fob so the suspect turned around, drove back, struck another car and then assaulted the driver to get the fob, Tisch said.
“He put the metal thing in my head. I almost died. It’s still scary now,” the driver said.
The driver said the suspect tackled him and left him injured during the confrontation.
By the time the suspect drove away with the car, officers from the 109th Precinct were responding to the rideshare driver’s 911 call and tried to stop the car. Narcotics detectives returning from executing a search warrant nearby joined the officers to assist by blocking the car.
Three of the officers opened fire at 8:57 a.m., but the suspect wasn’t struck. One of the detectives was instead hit in the right hand and left leg, Tisch said. The mayor and the commissioner didn’t get into the specifics of what led the officers to draw their weapons and fire.
“During the apprehension, one detective from Queens South Narcotics was shot twice, wounded in the arm and the leg. At this time, it appears that this was a friendly fire incident. Thankfully, these injuries are non-life threatening, and we expect him to make a full recovery,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said.
“Blessedly, as the mayor said, our officer is in stable condition and is both conscious and alert. I am pleased to report that I met with him and his family, and he is in good spirits. He is in surgery now,” Tisch said.
The entire incident was caught on officers’ body cameras. Police said they did not find a weapon on the suspect.
Adams said the detective, a 12-year veteran, has a pregnant wife.
A neighbor said they heard the commotion.
“I was in bed. Some screaming of this victim woke me up,” an area resident said. “It’s, like, more persistent and loud, so my dad opens the door to see what’s up. And then it’s just, it’s this poor victim, this poor Asian guy, got his car stolen. And then I think he says something about ‘weapon, weapon,’ and just in the nick of time, too. The cops come and pick him up, to go get the suspect, and then a little bit after that, I hear something. I heard something loud, like heavy, and I thought it was gunshots.”
Suspect has lengthy rap sheet, “has no business walking free”
The suspect was identified as Kevin Dubuisson, 28. He is in custody.
According to a criminal complaint, back in April 2023 in Brooklyn, Dubuisson grabbed someone’s headphones, pointed a knife at them and threatened to kill them unless they gave him their stuff.
Dubuisson was arrested Thursday for jumping the turnstile at the 28th Street subway station and given a desk appearance ticket.
“I want to be clear. Regardless of who shot our detective, there’s one person responsible for starting the chain of events that landed us in the hospital today. This is a man who should’ve been behind bars, not on our streets. He’s a 28-year-old recidivist with a lengthy rap sheet of robbery and assaulting officers who was on parole for a robbery that took place in March, and was literally arrested again yesterday and released with a desk appearance ticket,” Adams said. “This is a definition, I believe, of insanity – arresting the same people over and over again and expecting different results. NYPD is gathering more information about the crime, but it’s clear this individual has no business walking free and endangering New Yorkers.”
“Mr. Dubuisson has a lengthy, violent criminal history, with 10 career unsealed arrests, including multiple knifepoint robberies and multiple assaults on police officers. At just 28 years old, he is a four-time convicted felon. Mr. Dubuisson is currently out on parole for robbery after being released from prison in March of this year, and was actually arrested just yesterday for theft of service in Manhattan and released with a desk appearance ticket,” Tisch said. “This chain of events began because a career criminal, a person who has terrorized victims for nearly a decade, was allowed to continue his violent spree. It is unconscionable that a violent, predicate felon, who pled guilty to two more robberies was out on the streets to commit his crimes today. That is criminal justice reform for you.”
“Today we are reminded once more of the risk that every man and woman that performs public safety in the city, specifically members of the New York Police Department, faces when they put on the uniform and that badge. Especially with our current state laws that allow for a revolving door of criminal activity, and for dangerous people to be put back on our streets after they have committed crimes, and as recently as yesterday, and on parole. It just sends a terrible signal to our public, and a terrible signal to the men and women who attempt to apprehend and ensure our city is a safe place,” Adams added.
CBS News New York has been searching for answers as to whether protocol was followed when officers fired their weapons.
“It’s under investigation, and what we’re clear on, not one shot would have been fired if the perpetrator would have behind bars where he should have been if we did not have these major changes in our laws. And when you’re responding a call of service where the preliminary reports indicated that the person was armed with a weapon, those officers don’t know what they are responding to and I thank God that they took this dangerous person off our streets,” Adams said. “And the review will look at it. The shooting team will determine if there are any changes that should be done. But I thank God for those responding officers and how they responded.”
An NYPD officer was shot in Whitestone, Queens on Aug. 22, 2025.
CBS News New York
“Praying for the NYPD detective shot in the line of duty this morning in Queens. Grateful his injuries are not life-threatening and wishing him a full recovery,” Gov. Kathy Hochul wrote on social media.
Felipe Rodriguez, formerly with the NYPD and a professor at John Jay College, said the use of force investigation will look into the 911 calls and the information that came over the NYPD radio when determining why the officers used their weapons.
“It’s always the totality of the circumstances. When we look at this, we have to take into account what is the information that we’re getting,” Rodriguez said. “A carjacking is usually a violent crime, which incurs physical force.”
Mayoral candidates react to shooting
“I think it is horrific news, and I am thankful at the early reports that that officer is going to recover from those injuries. I keep him and his family in my prayers, and I look forward to an investigation as to how this occurred,” mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani said during an unrelated news conference in Manhattan.
Mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo also responded to the shooting on social media.
“Today an NYPD detective was shot in the line of duty in Queens. We pray for his recovery. Violence against our police is an attack on all New Yorkers. As Mayor, I will always stand with the men and women of the NYPD who put their lives on the line to keep us safe,” Cuomo wrote.
“This is yet another tragic example of our brave officers putting their lives on the line to protect New Yorkers, only to be endangered by failed policies that allow repeat offenders to roam free,” said mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa. “This career criminal never should have been on our streets – with a record including assaults on police and robberies, he was a ticking time bomb.”
contributed to this report.
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