An NYPD police officer was shot twice Friday morning while responding to a carjacking by a violent career criminal who was out on parole, police and New York City Mayor Eric Adams said.
The officer was shot in the arm and the leg and suffered non-life-threatening injuries in what Mayor Eric Adams described as a "friendly fire incident." It is understood that the officer was shot by crossfire from the police.
He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where police said he was in stable condition and alert and conscious.
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The suspect, 28-year-old Kevin Dubois, allegedly tried to rob people at a gas station before he then carjacked an Uber driver parked off a service road in Whitestone, Queens.
Officers from the local precinct as well as narcotics agents responded to the scene just before 9 a.m. and said Dubois displayed what looked like a gun.
Three officers then opened fire and one officer was struck. Dubois was uninjured and collared by police. No weapon was recovered on Dubois.
Dubois is a four-time convicted felon with 10 prior arrests, including multiple knifepoint robberies and assaults on police officers, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a press briefing.
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Tisch, Adams and union representatives all blamed New York state's criminal justice reforms for allowing someone like Kevin Dubois back on the streets.
The shooting comes just weeks after NYPD Officer Didarul Islam was shot dead inside a Manhattan building along with three other victims.
"Mr. Dubois 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 only a desk appearance ticket (DAT)," Tisch said.
"Importantly, prior to the criminal justice reforms of 2020, any individual out on parole would not have been eligible for a DAT. Mr. Dubois also has a documented history as an emotionally disturbed person (EDP) with the department prior to the incident with the Uber driver."
Adams also blasted the current legislation and said it allows violent criminals to be set free, putting the public and police officers in danger.
"This is insanity, arresting the same people over and over again and expecting change," Adams said. "The criminal was released yesterday before committing a carjacking today."
Adams said the blame for Friday's shooting rests squarely on the suspect's release.
"For dangerous people to be put back on our streets as recently as yesterday on parole, it sends a terrible signal to our public," Adams said.
"Regardless of who shot our detective, there's one person responsible for starting the chain of events that landed us in the hospital today," Adams said. "This is a man who should have been behind bars, not on our streets."
