The New York Police Department (NYPD) is investigating a shooting in the Bronx on Sunday evening that left two officers shot and seriously injured, in the NYPD’s latest tragic shooting.
According to WCBS, officers were driving in the Wakefield section of the Bronx when they came upon a motorcycle being driven by a man who appeared to be heading towards them. The officers suspected that the man was wanted for a parole violation and initiated a high-speed pursuit. They put on their emergency lights and sirens but, according to the NYPD’s chief of department, he “flipped them off and rammed their patrol car.”
The suspect, who police say is David Bartsch, fled on foot, causing officers to give chase. At around 9.05pm, Bartsch approached two officers who were on foot, opened fire on them and fled back into a nearby building. Police say Bartsch then turned and fired at a third officer, hitting him once in the leg. That officer returned fire and fatally shot Bartsch, who later died at the hospital. The two officers are expected to recover from their injuries.
Citing a police source, TMZ reported that the officers initially fired on Bartsch when he was driving the motorcycle, but during his rampage they apparently mistook the gunfire coming from his revolver for friendly fire and accidentally shot the two officers.
Police Commissioner James O’Neill described the incident as “pretty crazy.”
“We don’t have anyone down at this time,” he told reporters. “A two-officer chase ended with gunfire. Two officers from the 68th are down – one with a gunshot wound to the leg and one shot in the torso.”