NYPD cop shot dead, another injured in shootout with Bronx gunman
An ex-con opened fire from 2 feet away and shot dead a veteran NYPD sergeant in the Bronx Friday, law enforcement sources said.
The gunman wounded a second officer before being killed in a barrage of police bullets.
Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo, 41, was fatally struck in the head and chest.
The second cop — identified by sources as Sgt. Emmanuel Kwo, 30 — was hit in the right leg and is expected to survive following the 3 p.m. shooting in Parkchester.
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NYPD Officer Paul Tuozzolo was fatally shot by Manuel Rosales.
(NYPD)
Tuozzolo, a 19-year veteran, lived with his wife and two sons — ages 3 and 4 — in Huntington, L.I.
“The city is in mourning and the family of the NYPD is in mourning at the loss of a very good man,” Mayor de Blasio said at a news conference at Jacobi Medical Center. “A devoted man. A man who committed his life to protecting all of us.”
The incident unfolded after the gunman broke into his estranged wife’s apartment on Beach Ave. near Merrill St. about 2:45 p.m., police said.
The woman reported to 911 dispatchers that the killer — identified as Manuel Rosales, a 35-year-old from Long Island with a long rap sheet — was armed.
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Scenes after the fatal shooting of NYPD officer in the Bronx
Moments after cops were sent to the scene, police learned that Rosales fled in a red Jeep Cherokee, cops said.
Officers inside a marked patrol car spotted the vehicle outside a storage facility on Bronx River Ave., sources said.
NYPD Sgt. Emmanuel Kwo was shot in the leg Friday in the Bronx.
(NYPD)
Rosales hit the gas and tried to make a U-turn — but the cops boxed him in, sources said.
Four cops were at the scene when Tuozzolo and Kwo approached the SUV with their weapons drawn and demanded the suspect step out from behind the wheel.
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There was no response, so the officers inched closer, sources said.
They could not see Rosales’ .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun. When the sergeants were within 2 feet of the jeep, Rosales started blasting away — striking Tuozzolo and Kwo, sources said.
Manuel Rosales died after he shot and killed Tuozzolo in a shootout with police. His gun is in the foreground.
Two officers, including a 25-year-old NYPD recruit on field training, returned fire, sources said.
“He handled himself like a 30-year veteran,” Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch said of the recruit.
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Rosales — who had 17 prior arrests and served three stints in prison — was pronounced dead at the scene.
Hours after the gun battle, his bloodied body could be seen dangling outside the vehicle, which had crashed into the side of Tuck It Away Storage.
The cops — both based out of the 43rd precinct — were rushed to Jacobi Medical Center by fellow cops.
The gun, a Colt .45 caliber semi-automatic, used by Manuel Rosales in the shootout.
(NYPD)
Tuozzolo’s family was still enroute to the hospital when he died, sources said.
“I always talk about what a great job this is, but there’s nothing worse than a day like today,” NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill said.
Rosales was pronounced dead at the scene.
A source who was inside the hospital room described a heart-breaking scene.
“The wife, mother and father were all huddled together crying trying to console each other,” the source said. “The wife is devastated.”
William Rivera, the district manager of Community Board 9, hailed Tuozzolo after sitting vigil in the hospital emergency room with the fallen officer’s devastated colleagues.
“He could never say no if we had a quality of life issue,” Rivera said. “He was a very veteran, seasoned supervisor.”
Dozens of glum-faced cops gathered outside the hospital Friday afternoon, while several more lined the hallways inside.
Rosales had showed up at the Bronx home Thursday night and threatened to kill his estranged wife.
Manuel Rosales, 35, opened fire on Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo and Sgt. Emmanuel Kwo as they closed in on him.
(Suffolk County Police Department via AP)
But by the time police officers showed up, Rosales was gone, sources said.
He was behind bars from April 2012 to June 2014 on charges of possessing stolen property.
Rosales was locked up from July 2006 to March 2010 on charges of assault and driving without license.
His first stint in prison lasted from July 2001 to December 2002 for unauthorized use of a vehicle.
Rosales has also been arrested twice earlier this year for domestic violence in Suffolk County. Rosales was due in court on Nov. 16.
Gov. Cuomo, in a statement, expressed condolences to the officer’s family.
The gunman, identified as Manuel Rosales, was killed in an ensuing firefight.
(Michael Schwartz for New York Daily News)
“Every day, the brave men and women of law enforcement selflessly serve our communities to keep the rest of us safe,” he said. “Today, a sergeant in the New York City Police Department has made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty, and another officer is undergoing treatment.
“My deepest sympathies are with the families of the officers involved in today’s tragedy in the Bronx, and with Commissioner O’Neill and the NYPD as they cope with the loss of one of their own.”
An American flag was lowered to half-staff outside the 43rd Precinct stationhouse.
Aurora Carrion, president of the 43rd Precinct Community Council, expressed fury over the sergeant’s death.
NYPD Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo, seen with his wife, was fatally shot Friday in the Bronx.
(Facebook)
“I’m so upset about this whole thing,” Carrion said. “This has to stop. This is terrible, this gun violence.”
Some residents near the scene only learned about the shooting after hearing police choppers overhead.
“I heard the chopper like it was in my bedroom. That’s how I knew it was close,” said one resident. “It’s so sad. My brother’s a cop. That’s really heartbreaking.”
Donald Trump, at a rally in Wilmington, Ohio, referenced the shootings before the death of the officer was announced.
“Just now, just a couple of hours ago, two New York City police officers, supposed to be two great people, were shot in the Bronx,” Trump said. “Badly, badly shot. We send our thoughts and prayers to the officers and their families.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner James O’Neill speak to the media at Jacobi Hospital in the Bronx, New York City following the fatal shooting of an NYPD sergeant.
(Gardiner Anderson for New York Daily News)
The last cop killed in the line of duty was Detective Randolph Holder.
Holder, 33, was shot dead on Oct. 20, 2015, while responding to a shooting near E. 102nd St. and First Ave. in East Harlem.
Tyrone Howard, a career criminal, was charged with murder. He is still awaiting trial.
A procession of police vehicles escorts the body of NYPD Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo from Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx Friday night.
(Gardiner Anderson for New York Daily News)
With Kerry Burke, GRAHAM RAYMAN, Ben Kochman, Megan Cerullo, Adam Schrader, Ross Keith, Laura Dimon
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