Related article:
Two NYPD officers shot at subway station
By Sophia Chang
Newsday
NEW YORK — As wounded NYPD officer Jason Maass returned to his West Babylon home Wednesday, he gave a thumbs up for a group of waiting reporters and praised his partner, Shane Farina, who was recovering from surgery after Tuesday’s subway shooting.
“My partner’s a hero,” said Maass, 28, a two-year veteran of the force.
Farina, 38, of Center Moriches, underwent three hours of abdominal surgery at Elmhurst Medical Center yesterday and was in stable condition in the surgical intensive care unit, a hospital spokesman said yesterday. Maass was injured by a bullet grazing his back and bullet fragments in his pelvis.
The two plainclothes undercover officers were shot Tuesday evening as they grappled with a suspected fare dodger inside the Queensbridge-21st Street subway station in Long Island City, investigators said.
As the officers tried to arrest Raul Nunez, 32, who police said is an ex-convict from the Dominican Republic who was improperly using a student fare card, he struggled with them down to the floor. Nunez grabbed Maass’ police-issued 9-mm handgun that had come loose, stood up, and shot the officers while they lie on the platform, according to authorities.
Nunez fled the platform but then was shot and wounded on the upper level of the station by Lt. Gary Abrahall, also part of the operation, who fired at him six times, police said.
Nunez was struck four times and was listed in serious condition at Bellevue Hospital Center yesterday. Police sources said he stood a good chance of escaping were it not for Abrahall, who was not hit after Nunez fired at him three times.
A married father of four, Abrahall, 44, who lives in Sayville, has worked the streets his entire career, according to a former colleague on the NYPD, taking extreme measures only when forced to do so.
“He’s good with people,” said the former colleague, who did not want his named published.
“I’m sure he did what he had to do.”
Outside of Elmhurst Medical Center yesterday, police commissioner Ray Kelly said Abrahall had acted “appropriately and heroically.” He later added, “he did an outstanding job.”
While both wounded officers were wearing bulletproof vests, Farina, a four-year veteran from Center Moriches, was shot in the sternum and suffered a fractured rib and a lacerated liver. The bullet struck just beneath the lower border of the vest. Yesterday, Kelly visited Farina in the hospital and said afterward, “he feels lucky.”
Elmhurst hospital spokesman Dario Centorcelli described Farina as “a tough guy. He’s going to be OK. There was a laceration of the liver but there was very little bleeding.”
The mood at Farina’s bedside, tense on Tuesday night, was “a lot more relaxed” yesterday, Centorcelli said. In Center Moriches, Farina’s house was neatly hung with Halloween decorations yesterday, and his neighbors said he had been a gracious and generous friend through the years.
“He’s a very sweet man,” said neighbor Arden Macik, 53. “He helped me when my husband passed away.”
Farina is married with two young children, she said.
Another neighbor, Frank Zadrazil, said Farina spent a lot of time working on a beloved Camaro as well as on his boat.
“It’s just shocking how it happened,” said Zadrazil, 61.
As he headed into his home, Maass said he was feeling “great,” but added, “I’m concerned for my partner.”
Copyright 2008 Newsday