By Noah Goldberg
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — The second NYPD cop wounded during an exchange of gunfire in the Bronx was released from the hospital Friday.
Officer Robert Holmes was wheeled out of St. Barnabas Hospital to a standing ovation from colleagues—including his partner, Officer Alejandra Jacobs, who was released from the same hospital Thursday.
Holmes was escorted out of the hospital by two doctors who treated him for the gunshot wound as cheering officers clapped and saluted before he stood up and got into the back of a police van.
Holmes was shot in the right armpit Wednesday night in the caught-on-video shooting near E. 187th St. and Beaumont Ave. in Belmont.
Jacobs was wounded in her arm. That she returned to the hospital for her partner’s release was no surprise, said Patrick Lynch, the president of the Police Benevolent Association.
Jacobs “came back here today to make sure her partner was okay. That’s what New York City police officers are,” Lynch told reporters outside the hospital.
https://twitter.com/NYPDnews/status/1464355573487607813
“For Officer Holmes, today became Thanksgiving because the other night he almost lost his life and had to spend Thanksgiving here in the hospital,” Lynch said.
Jacobs and Holmes were shot about 8 p.m. Wednesday when they responded to a 911 call for a person with a gun.
They found Charlie Vasquez, 23, who fit the description, sitting on the stoop of an apartment building.
The officers directed Vazquez to take his hands out of his pockets, but instead the suspect pulled out a gun and fired off shots, cops said.
“Within seconds, they are involved in a gun battle,” NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said in a press conference after the shooting.
Vazquez fired off four shots, two of which hit Jacobs in the right arm. Holmes struggled with Vazquez as Jacobs pulled out her gun and fired off bullets in their direction, surveillance video of the incident shows.
Police are still investigating if Holmes’ injuries were a result of friendly fire.
Vazquez was shot three times in the chest and was still hospitalized Friday night, police said.
Lynch said the incident should spark elected officials to reevaluate “all the rules and laws that they changed” which he says have made city streets less safe.
“Common sense tells us it’s not working,” he said. “Our streets are getting more and more dangerous, so once again it’s time now as a new administration comes in to press that reset button.”
RELATED: NYPD officer wounded in Bronx gunfight leaves hospital
©2021 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.