2 Officers, Suspect Shot in Brooklyn Gunfight: NYPD

Two plainclothes NYPD officers were shot in a gunfight with a suspect, who was critically wounded, early Saturday in Brooklyn, officials said.

The two officers were recovering at Kings County Hospital, officials said. Both were stable and alert.

Investigators are looking into the possibility that both officers were hit by friendly fire because police had confronted the gunman from different directions, a police official told NBC 4 New York. At least 25 shots were fired in the gun battle.

One of the two injured officers, William Reddin, a nine-year NYPD veteran with one child and another on the way, was shot in his right hip.

The other officer, Andrew Yurkiw, who has been with the force for three years, was injured by the bullet striking his protective vest.

In an odd twist, Yurkiw's father, Paul, was himself shot while on duty and saved by his bulletproof vest more than a quarter century ago, officials said.

"These officers pursued their work last night with vigor, with focus," Mayor de Blasio said at a hospital press conference following the shooting. "These are very dedicated officers who were out there protecting us. Thank God they had some of the things they needed to keep them safe."

The suspect, 34-year-old Jamal Funes, was taken to Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center in critical condition.

Two housing officers heard a shot at around 3:20 a.m. near Malcolm X Boulevard and Quincy Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Funes pointed a gun at them, then fled in a vehicle, according to police.

Numerous units responded to the uniformed officers' call for help. One unit's patrol car was rammed by Fune's vehicle as he attempted to flee.

Funes, who remained in his vehicle throughout the confrontation, was shot several times, police said.

Police recovered a .357 magnum from the front seat of Fune's vehicle, officials said. Five rounds from the weapon had been fired, investigators said.

There was no indication that Funes, who had previously used the name Frederick Funes, had obtained a lawyer who could comment on his behalf.

Funes has had numerous run-ins with the law, including arrests for robbery, menacing and weapons possession, investigators said.

The incident marks the second time this month that NYPD officers were shot on duty. Officers Diara Cruz and Patrick Espeut were shot and wounded on patrol in a public housing stairwell by a gunman who killed himself soon after, police said.

Last month, Officer Sherrod Stuart was wounded in the ankle in what police later determined was a friendly-fire shooting as another officer exchanged gunfire with a suspect in a Bronx street brawl.

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