Posted on 02/12/2019 9:46:48 PM PST by Simon Green
An NYPD detective was shot and killed while responding to a robbery at a cellphone store in Queens Tuesday night, and NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill says it appears to be "an absolutely tragic case of friendly fire."
Det. Brian Simonsen, 42, was killed after being hit by gunfire at the T-Mobile store at Atlantic Avenue and 120th Street in Richmond Hill, according to a preliminary investigation, O'Neill said. Simonsen was a 19-year veteran.
Two separate 911 callers reported a robbery in progress at the store and at least one of the callers said two employees had been forced at gunpoint to the back of the store.
Simonsen and his sergeant were working on an unrelated case in the area when they heard the calls come in, O'Neill said. They responded immediately just as patrol units from the 102nd Precinct arrived.
The officers entered the store and saw the suspect emerge from the back, pointing at them with what appeared to be a handgun.
"With the suspect advancing toward them, the officers discharged their weapons and retreated out of the store. That was when Det. Simonsen was shot," O'Neill said.
"His fellow officers put him in a marked police car and transported him here. The trauma staff did their best to try to save him, and we thank them for that. They were unable to do so," O'Neill added.
The sergeant, later identified as Matthew Gorman, who had eight and a half years with the NYPD, was shot in the leg, and was taken to the hospital by a passerby who stopped to help.
"Make no mistake about it: Friendly fire aside, it's because of the action of the suspect that Det. Simonsen is dead," O'Neill said.
The suspect, a 27-year-old career criminal, was shot multiple times and was taken to Booth Memorial Hospital, where he's listed in stable condition. Sources have identified him as Christopher Ransom.
(The suspect)
Some cops live to play at war. They aren’t very good at it.
Hard to go by a face.
Doesn’t have the evil or hard look in his eyes and he looks semi clean cut.
Some pictures of perps, they look like they were born to kill.
Just goes to show you...looks can be deceiving.
What a waste.
Is it time for Fake Gun control.
Quite the pathetic response.
Know your target before you shoot. Back to school you go.
Some people Play at being Human. they aren’t very good at it.
Shot in the leg, dead in a few minutes... seems like it hit the femoral artery.
so the uniformed officers were running away, yet still firing, and hit the detective in the leg... were they firing blindly over their shoulder as they ran?
The officers entered the store and saw the suspect emerge from the back, pointing at them with what appeared to be a handgun.
“With the suspect advancing toward them, the officers discharged their weapons and retreated out of the store. That was when Det. Simonsen was shot,” O’Neill said.
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Jeez...what is it with the lack of clarity in today’s journalism? Does “the officers who entered the store” refer to the Detective and his Sergeant? And does “the officers who discharged their weapons” refer to the Detective & Sergeant also? Or do one or both of these sentences refer to actions by officers from the “patrol units from the 102nd Precinct” who arrived simultaneously with the Detective & his Sergeant?
The writing is as clear as mud. Whence came the “friendly fire”?
Must be part of the training up there. I remember those two cops that shot nine innocent bystanders in the middle of Time Square, did the same thing.
There's even video!
Wow. YouTube has all kinds of video referring to the incident I wrote of (empire state building).
Only RTV carries the raw footage though....imagine that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSV-iSnk6YM
They were running away from an armed fashion designer, guns blazing!
Dude, your video is from an incident YEARS AGO? Please don’t conflate with this week’s shooting.
That’s okay, they can charge the robber with his death since it was his crime that led to their erroneous discharge.
Read the article again.
If those cops didn’t engage the perp, you might have run into him some day (they raid further and further from the reservation frontiers); appreciate what this cop (and any loved ones) gave up.
I’m not the biggest fan of cops, but in this day of “de-policing” to avoid controversy, I salute this man who did his job and gave all he could to keep people safe.
Det. Brian Simonsen, 42, was killed after being hit...
The sergeant, later identified as Matthew Gorman, who had eight and a half years with the NYPD, was shot in the leg...”
Oh. Ok.
Why?
Oh, please. What are you, twelve?
If I did run into the “perp,” you can bet your a$$ there wouldn’t be a dead friendly.
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