NYPD detective critically injured in violent confrontation with teen just 10 days before retirement

A veteran NYPD detective just 10 days from retirement was shot in the back Sunday morning in a wild Brooklyn gunfight that erupted when he and another cop jumped out of their car to confront an armed teen.

The 18-year-old alleged gunman was nabbed after a dramatic foot chase following the shootout, which occurred at Nostrand Avenue and St. Johns Place in Crown Heights around 4:45 a.m.

The shooting broke out when the teen approached an unmarked NYPD car holding a semiautomatic pistol, according to police.


Investigators flock to where the shootout occurred in Brooklyn.Christopher Sadowski for NY Post

6
Officers monitor the scene after the shooting.Christopher Sadowski for NY Post
6
The teen gunman shot up the unmarked NYPD vehicle early Sunday.Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post
The deranged teen had racked a round into his weapon’s chamber moments earlier, according to chilling surveillance footage obtained by The Post.

Police are investigating whether the gunman knew cops were in the black Kia SUV when he walked up to it, sources told The Post. The officers were in uniform at the time.

As the two officers got out of the car to try to disarm the suspect, he opened fire, spraying the vehicle with rounds and leaving bullet holes in its front and rear windshields as well as on the passenger side, police said.

Three officers returned fire, but the suspect was not struck, according to police. There appeared to be at least nine bullet casings left on the ground after the gunfire.

Detective Robert L. Karroll was shot in the upper back while wearing a ballistic vest and has minor injuries, police said.

The suspect fled on foot but was quickly nabbed several blocks away on Rogers Avenue and Union Street.

After he resisted arrest and refused to be handcuffed, officers used a Taser to subdue him before taking him into custody.

Karroll was taken to a local hospital for treatment and is expected to make a full recovery, police said.

He is fewer than two weeks from retirement, according to sources.

“Today that vest saved his life,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a press conference Sunday morning.

A second officer suffered bruises to her face and shoulder during the incident.


NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, flanked by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYPD First Deputy Commissioner Tania Kinsella, speaks during a press conference Sunday.Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post
The suspect’s gun has been recovered, sources told The Post. A picture of the alleged weapon used, a SAR 9mm handgun recovered from the scene, was shared by the NYPD on X.

The officers had been reassigned to Brooklyn shortly after midnight as part of a stepped-up patrol for the NYPD’s July 4th violence reduction plan. They had been working the Sail4th 250 event in Lower Manhattan on Saturday.

Both of the wounded cops were with with a sex-offender monitoring unit.

6
An NYPD officer holds up a photograph of the firearm allegedly used in the shooting.Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post
6
Police said detectives were fired upon as they got out of this unmarked car around 4:45 a.m. Sunday.Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post
There is no body-worn camera video of the shooting because it happened quickly and unexpectedly, Tisch said.

But on the surveillance footage obtained by The Post, the teen is seen flashing the weapon as he walks back and forth on Nostrand Avenue, just a half block from the unmarked police cruiser, before the shooting.

818What do you think? Post a comment.

The suspect walks back and forth along the sidewalk – at one point pulling back the slide of his pistol before dashing up the street to the unmarked vehicle.

NYPD investigators were going to local businesses Sunday to pull security footage to get a better sense of what happened in the run-up to the shooting, particularly as the suspect approached the vehicle, sources said.

The suspect reportedly had no prior criminal history.

— Additional reporting by Tina Moore