A junior Bangladeshi police officer, who was shot during a gunfight between two gangs at a Brooklyn housing project in East New York on Thursday, was reported to be safe.
While patrolling, Officer Jamil Sarwar, 30, responded to a call that two people were shooting at each other on Sutter Avenue in the 75th Precinct during Fourth of July celebrations. He took a bullet to his right thigh while chasing the gunmen with a colleague.
He was treated at Jamaica Hospital Medical Centre and was out of harm's way, Officer Abu Firoz, another Bangladeshi-born NYPD officer, told the Dhaka Tribune on Saturday, adding that Sarwar was released on Friday.
On Thursday night, hundreds of law enforcers thronged Cypress Hills Houses and searched door-to-door for the gunman. A number of people were arrested, Firoz said. Three teenagers were being interrogated at the 75th Precinct station.
Working with the NYPD since 2007, Sarwar became a police officer in January last year. Prior to that, he was a traffic enforcement agent.
The NYPD in a statement on Friday said: “at around 11:45pm on Thursday, Officer Sarwar and his partner, both assigned to Brooklyn North Impact, were responding to a call of “shots fired” in the Cypress Hills Houses. While responding, Sarwar and his partner heard additional shots and took cover inside one of the buildings. While entering the building, Sarwar realised he had been shot in his right thigh. He was removed to the hospital and is currently in stable condition. The investigation is ongoing.”
After the incident, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said: “It is not uncommon for revellers to celebrate the Fourth of July with gunfire” along with fireworks. The day is a “time of concern” for police officers on duty.
NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said the gunshot might came from the rooftop of a nearby building.
Investigators found 9mm and 40-caliber shell casings – four in all – on a rooftop as well as on the ground, but it was not clear if the casings were related to the shooting.
Quoting police sources, the NY Post claimed Sarwar was shot by a sniper from a nearby building.
The housing project is known for its violent gang activity where “Bloods” and “Crips” often fight over supremacy, Officer Firoz said. “Thursday’s incident was a gunfight,” he said.
Soon after the shooting, about 60 police cars, nine NYPD crime-scene trucks, and helicopters arrived at the housing project in a massive effort to find the gunman.
Investigators are yet to confirm whether the shooting was gang-related, if the police were targeted, or if Sarwar was merely a victim of Fourth of July "celebrations."