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Video shows desperate shootout that wounded 2 NYPD cops

The suspect refused commands to take his hands out of his pockets moments before shooting, video shows

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NYPD

By Thomas Tracy
New York Daily News

NEW YORK — Newly released NYPD body camera footage shows a pair of cops’ fierce struggle with a Bronx gunman that ended with both officers shot.

“Call a bus (ambulance)! I’m shot!” Officer Robert Holmes screamed after he wrestled suspect Charlie Vasquez to the ground during the frantic 20-second skirmish on E. 187th St. and Beaumont Ave. in Belmont on Nov. 24.

“I’m shot too!” Officer Alejandra Jacobs screamed, gun still in hand, body camera video shows. Vasquez is on the ground, moaning.

“My arm!” Jacobs screams. “Where are you shot?”

Both cops were hit once and Vasquez was struck multiple times during the 8:10 p.m. confrontation.

The NYPD has not confirmed if one of the cops was hit by friendly fire during the clash.

The two officers were called to the location on a report of a man with a gun seated on a stoop outside the building.

When they arrived, they found Vasquez sitting on the fenced in stoop. He was unnervingly quiet, his hands thrust in his pockets as police approached, the video shows.

Holmes opened the gate and asked Vasquez to take his hands out of his pockets but instead the suspect pulled a handgun and opened fire.

Vasquez fired off six shots as he and Holmes brawled down the stoop and onto the sidewalk.

As shots ricocheted off the sidewalk, Jacobs squeezed off five rounds at the struggling Vasquez and Holmes, surveillance video and the newly released body camera footage show.

Vasquez was shot in the stomach, chest and armpit and was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital for treatment. He’s currently facing two counts of attempted murder, assault on a police officer and other charges.

Holmes was shot in the left side of his chest while Jacobs was hit in the right bicep. Both cops were expected to fully recover.

The NYPD could not immediately determine if Holmes, who was next to Vasquez when Jacobs started shooting, was hit by friendly fire.

“The investigation is still at an early stage and there is much that remains to be done,” an NYPD spokeswoman said a day after the shooting. “It is clear that both officers acted heroically under fire.”

This week the NYPD could still not say if friendly fire has been ruled out.

“The investigation remains ongoing,” an NYPD spokesman said.

Jacobs is a U.S. Air Force reservist who joined the NYPD in November 2020. Holmes is an eight-year veteran of the department.

©2022 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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