.png)
5 months ago
43
An illegal Venezuelan migrant has been arrested for allegedly shooting two NYPD cops while on a scooter after they tried pulling him over.
Police approached Bernardo Raul Castro-Mata, 19, as he drove the illegal vehicle the wrong way down a one-way highway in Queens overnight.
He allegedly responded by opening fire on the officers using an unlicensed gun before fleeing on foot just before 2am, NYPD said. One officer was struck in the leg while the other sustained a shot to their bulletproof vest.
Although Castro-Mata has not previously been arrested in New York City, police believe he is part of a group which has been using scooters to commit violent robberies.
An illegal Venezuelan migrant has been arrested for allegedly shooting two NYPD cops while on a scooter after they tried pulling him over, officials have said. (Pictured: Castro-Mata being taken away from the scene of the shooting in a stretcher)
'We're looking at him for several other robbery patterns in the Queens area where he does have other co-defendants,' NYPD Detective Joseph Kenny said during a briefing Monday morning.
In one incident, he is accused of attacking a woman and stealing her credit card, which was later used at a Queens smoke shop, according to NYPD records.
Castro-Mata entered the US in July last year via Eagle Pass, Texas, Kenny said. He has been staying at a migrant shelter in Ditmars Boulevard, close to the area where the shooting happened.
The teenager was also shot in the ankle during the altercation with officers, and he underwent surgery on Monday morning at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens.
NYPD said the unlicensed gun he allegedly used was recovered at the scene.
Photographs show Castro-Mata looking shell-shocked as he was taken away on a stretcher with his arms handcuffed behind his back.
Bernardo Raul Castro-Mata, 19, shot the officers using an illegal handgun in East Elmhurst
Police approached Bernardo Raul Castro-Mata, 19, as he drove the illegal vehicle the wrong way down a one-way highway in East Elmurst in Queens overnight. (Pictured: Castro-Mata being taken away from the scene of the shooting in a stretcher)
Pictured: the discarded scooter at the crime scene after the shootout between Castro-Mata and two NYPD officers
Another image shows three officers carrying him away by his arms and legs as he grimaces, while the discarded scooter can also been seen amid carnage at the scene.
The officers involved in the shootout were also filmed being wheeled out of Elmhurst hospital in the daylight several hours later.
Onlookers gave them a standing ovation as one was pushed out in a wheelchair before hopping into a police van, while the other walked out and shook hands with colleagues.
English (US)