Monday morning saw two police officers shot by an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela who was driving a scooter, according to the New York Police Department (NYPD. FOX News reported that the incident took place at the intersection of 89th Street and 23rd Avenue, following an attempted traffic stop around 1:40 a.m.
The attempted traffic stop led to the undocumented immigrant abandoning his scooter and fleeing, subsequently firing shots at the pursuing officers. FOX 5 New York highlighted that “the officers were working to address a robbery pattern in the area involving mopeds and scooters.” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban revealed that the suspect first caught the attention of the officers by allegedly driving the wrong way on 82nd Street near 23rd Avenue.
In response to being shot at, the police officers fired back, wounding the assailant in his ankle. Both of the officers were treated for their gunshot wounds and released from the hospital. One of them was hit in his bulletproof vest, while the other was shot in his leg. PIX11 identified the undocumented immigrant as 19-year-old Bernardo Raul Castro-Mata, who reportedly crossed into the U.S. at Eagle Pass, Texas, back in July of 2023.