NYPD detective shot in leg released from hospital
NEW YORK (FOX5NY) - An NYPD detective shot in the leg Friday morning in Brooklyn was released from a hospital hours later and is expected to recover, police officials said.
On Friday at about 6:40 a.m. in Bedford-Stuyvesant, members of the Brooklyn North Warrant Squad were in an unmarked police vehicle when they spotted a man wanted for a domestic robbery involving a firearm.
The vehicle made a U-turn and the suspect took off running, NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill said during a news conference.
The officers chased on foot. The suspect opened fire, striking Det. Miguel Soto in the thigh, O'Neill said. The officers returned fire striking Kelvin Stichel, 33, of Brooklyn in the right forearm.
Soto, a seven-year veteran of the NYPD, was taken to Kings County Hospital and treated for the gunshot wound. The bullet apparently went straight through his upper thigh, O'Neill said.
"He's more concerned about his two partners than himself. He's in great spirits," the commissioner said.
Soto's family was by his bedside Friday morning and accompanied him when he was released to cheers and applause from his fellow cops.
"Grateful to be alive & surrounded by family, he's going to be ok," Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea tweeted with a video showing Soto leaving the hospital. "This is what selflessness looks like. #NYPD_Protecting"
"What an incredible moment! Smiles and applause as Dt. Miguel Soto heads home from the hospital with his son and wife in hand," Patrol Borough Brooklyn North tweeted. "Det Soto was shot 7 hours before his release from the hospital...Amazing. From the bottom of our hearts here at Brooklyn North...THANK YOU!"
The suspect, 33-year old Kelvin Stichel, was taken to a different hospital to be treated for a gunshot wound to his arm.
Police cordoned off the area of Decatur Street and Tompkins Avenue following the shooting.
Nearly a dozen police vehicles, two helicopters, and police in tactical gear surrounded the neighborhood.
The shooting comes a year and a day after the ambush killing of Police Officer Miosotis Familia.
With the Associated Press