BY ROBBIE SEQUEIRA
A Brooklyn man is being
charged with the attempted
murder of two Bronx NYPD offi
cers that occurred on Thanksgiving
Eve in the Belmont section
of the Bronx.
Charlie Vazquez, 23, is also
facing other charges including
assault, criminal use of a fi rearm,
criminal possession of a
weapon, and reckless endangerment
when police were sent
to Beaumont Avenue and East
187th Street just after 8:03 p.m.,
following a 911 call regarding a
man armed with a gun.
According to NYPD Commissioner
Dermot Shea, two
offi cers encountered Vazquez,
who was armed and sitting on
the front stoop of an apartment
building. Shea said it took “seconds”
for the encounter to turn
violent.
“As the male offi cer opens
the front gate, he’s speaking to
the individual and he immediately
says, ‘Can you take your
hands out of your pockets?’ As
he takes a step toward him, the
individual stands up, the gun
comes out, and the shots are
fi red,” Shea said during a press
conference at St. Barnabas
Hospital on Nov. 24.
A struggle ensued between
one of the responding offi cers
Robert Holmes and Vazquez,
as Alejandra Jacobs, the other
offi cer on the scene, pulled out
her gun and fi red off bullets in
their direction, surveillance
video of the incident shows.
According to police,
Vazquez fi red four shots, while
the Jacobs fi red fi ve before being
struck twice in the right
arm. Vazquez suffered three
wounds to the chest and received
emergency surgery at
St. Barnabas Hospital.
Holmes, an offi cer with
eight years on the job, was shot
in the right armpit, according
to police.
Jacobs was discharged from
the St. Barnabas Hospital on
Thanksgiving morning, while
Holmes was released on Friday,
Nov. 26.
A court date for Vazquez —
who Shea said has a lengthy
rap sheet that includes nine
prior arrests — has not yet
been set. The gun Vazquez used
in the shooting was reportedly
stolen from Georgia a year ago,
Police recover the weapon used by an armed suspect who shot and injured two police offi cers on Nov. 24. The
gun used in the shooting was stolen from Georgia, according to police. Photo Adrian Childress
police said.
BRONX TIMES R 18 EPORTER, DEC. 3-9, 2021 BTR
Police are still investigating
if Holmes’ injuries were a
result of friendly fi re. Outgoing
Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat,
lauded the two offi cers for
their courage as the events of
the night unfolded.
“We saw extraordinary
courage on display tonight. We
looked at the video, we saw offi -
cers doing their job, protecting
the city with incredible bravery,”
de Blasio said, referring
to bodycam footage of the incident
which the offi cers had recorded.
“I want to give thanks
for these offi cers, all the men
and women of the NYPD who
protect us. We all need to count
our blessings now.”
Brooklyn man charged in
Belmont police shooting