One New York City police sergeant has been killed and another injured during a shoot-out Friday with an armed suspect in the Bronx. The officers were reportedly responding to a 911 call about a home invasion in the Van Nest section shortly before 3 p.m. The man allegedly tried to flee the scene in a red Jeep. Police pursued, and when cops reached the suspect, he and the police traded gunfire.
A 41-year-old sergeant was shot in the head and died after being taken to Jacobi Hospital. At a press conference Friday afternoon, Mayor Bill de Blasio identified the murdered sergeant as Paul Tuozzolo, a 19-year veteran of the force and a father of two. The other sergeant, who was struck in the leg, is in stable condition. NYPD commissioner James O’Neill identified him as Emmanuel Kwo, a nine-year member of the department.
The suspect, 35-year-old Manuel Rosales, was shot and killed during the shoot-out, according to police. He allegedly fired on officers with a .35 caliber semi-automatic handgun, said Commissioner O’Neill. Based on the preliminary investigation, an armed Rosales broke into an apartment on Beach Avenue in the Bronx that belonged to his estranged wife, who was home with her 3-year-old son, a 13-year-old boy, and a 50-year-old woman. At some point, the 50-year-old woman called 911 about the break-in, which brought police to the scene.
Rosales, according to Commissioner O’Neill, had at least 17 prior arrests within Suffolk County, where he was believed to be living.
“There’s nothing worse than a day like today,” Commissioner O’Neill told reporters Friday.
The investigation is ongoing. According to the New York Times, the last NYPD officer killed in the line of duty was Officer Randolph Holder, who died in October 2015, when a suspect allegedly opened fire on him and his partner in East Harlem.
This post has been updated throughout.
