At least one police officer was involved in a harrowing shooting on Manhattan’s Upper East Side Thursday night, authorities said.
Shots rang out around 7:20 p.m. near E. 96th St. and Madison Ave., cops said. Police canvassed the area after getting reports 20 minutes earlier of a man with a gun near E. 107th St. and Madison Ave., and then spotted the suspect on Madison Ave. between E. 96th and E. 95th St., a police source said.
“He shot first at one of our officers and [the officer] returned fire, striking him,” a police source said.
The suspect was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition, according to the source.
“I pulled my son by his shirt, and we sat down behind a big wall and waited it out,” said bystander Jonathan Trichter. “It happened so fast. The cars were definitely in pursuit.”
Trichter’s 11-year-old son, who was walking with his dad, recounted, “I heard shots. At first I thought it was fireworks.”
“I saw the police cars coming out and turning off of Madison,” the boy continued. “But then I realized it wasn’t fireworks. It was gunshots, six gunshots. We took cover.”
This is a developing story. Check back for more information.
