NYPD gun investigation leads to high-speed chase in Lower Manhattan, injuring bicyclist

Kerry Burke, Janon Fisher, New York Daily News
·2 min read
16

A high-speed NYPD pursuit of a pair of illegal gun suspects on Tuesday night in Manhattan landed both men in handcuffs and a female bicyclist in the hospital, sources said.

Detectives investigating illegal firearms in the Lower East Side spotted two of their targets in a late-model Mercedes at Avenue D and Third St. just before 7 p.m. and attempted to detain them.

The driver and his passenger took off westbound on Houston St. Early in the chase, the passenger bailed out of the fleeing vehicle and was apprehended by police, according to a source.

The man has 21 prior arrests, including a gun charge, and was wearing an ankle monitor at the time of the latest bust, a police source told the Daily News. Cops also believe that he is a gang member.

The driver sped off with the police trailing.

The suspect clipped a 54-year-old woman riding her bike near Sullivan and Houston Sts., a source said, critically injuring her. She was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she’s expected to recover.

“The guy was being chased by the cops down Houston and he hit the curb and the bicyclist to get away,” witness Rody Biggert told The News. “You could hear the crunch. She was on the ground. She had some blood. She was hurt. It happened really fast. It was chaos.”

The fleeing suspect took a right at MacDougal St. and sped northbound on the southbound one-way street until NYPD cars blocked his path, causing him to leap out of the car and make his escape on foot, a source said.

“They blocked him right away,” Biggert said. “He got out to run and they Tased him. He got halfway down the block and they got him.”

Officers ran after the suspect and brought him down with an electric stun gun before taking him into custody.

The police chase disrupted the peace of a cool summer evening in the West Village.

“We saw him running and heard two big bangs,” local resident Diane Reid said. “It was the Taser — it didn’t sound like a gun. It’s a day in the life of New York.”

Pickleball player Bradley Humane caught the end of the chase as he made his way to the courts in the West Village. He praised the police for their capture.

“It was a solid effort,” he said. “They did a great job.”

Crime scene investigators taped off W. Houston St. from Sullivan to MacDougal and parts of the busy avenue up to Bleecker St.

Police said the investigation is ongoing.