New York cops wounded, suspect killed in domestic incident shootout

[November 25, 2020]  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two New York police officers were shot and wounded on Tuesday before returning fire and killing the shooter as they tried to resolve a domestic dispute in a residential neighborhood in the city's Queens borough, police said.

Both officers were rushed to a hospital where they were in stable condition, one with a gunshot wound to the upper thigh and the other to the hands, New York Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said.

Both officers will require surgery, Shea told reporters outside Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens.

The incident started when the two officers accompanied a woman, who was not identified, to her house around midday after she filed the latest of several domestic violence reports at a local police precinct, Shea said.

Shortly after the officers and the woman entered her home in a neighborhood of modest houses near John F. Kennedy International Airport, the gunman appeared at around 12:46 p.m. EST, he said.

"After about six minutes, he comes into the residence and starts shooting," Shea said.

The suspect, whose relationship with the woman was not described at the briefing, was killed at the scene, he said.

The dead man, identified as 41-year-old Rondell Goppy, worked as a peace officer at City University of New York, had a firearms license and no criminal history, police said. At least two handguns were recovered, they added.

New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Dermot Shea speaks at a news conference in New York City, New York, U.S., July 2, 2020. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo

Shea said police are investigating why Goppy was permitted to have weapons after the domestic violence reports.

The deadly encounter came amid a spike in the city's gun violence. The number of shooting victims has more than doubled so far this year to 1,667, according to New York Police Department data.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio hailed the officers as heroes.

"Here we have a situation where a woman was in danger and these officers went to protect her, only to find themselves in harm's way immediately," he said.

(Reporting by Peter Szekely in New York and Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Franklin Paul, Bernadette Baum and Jonathan Oatis)

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