Cops shoot gunman who opened fi re in Ozone Park
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
Police officers shot a guntoting
suspect who allegedly
shot a bouncer outside an
Ozone Park nightclub during an
altercation early on Saturday
morning, it was reported.
Authorities said the trouble
began at about 3:50 a.m. on
March 9 outside the RRR Bar
and Lounge located at 87-18
Liberty Ave., near 88th Street.
Chief of Patrol Rodney
Harrison provided preliminary
details about the incident during
an early-morning press briefing
at the scene. According to
Harrison, the suspect, a 32-yearold
man, got into a dispute
with a 38-year-old man outside
the establishment. NBC New
York reported that the 38-yearold
man worked at the club as
a bouncer.
During the dispute, the
32-year-old suspect shot the
38-year-old male in the left foot,
according to Harrison.
At about the time police
received a 911 call about the
shooting, members of the
106th Precinct Anti-Crime
Unit — a sergeant and three
The NYPD Crime Scene Unit marks bullet holes near the RRR Lounge following the shooting.
police officers, all wearing
plain clothes and riding in an
unmarked vehicle — passed
the club and witnessed the
altercation, Harrison added.
“As the officers exited
their unmarked vehicle, they
observed the victim and the
suspect fighting for control of a
firearm,” Harrison said. “The
officers ordered the suspect to
drop the firearm. The suspect
refused the officer’s demands,
at which time the officers
discharged their firearms.”
The 32-year-old man
sustained gunshot wounds to
his torso and arm, according
to Harrison.
Paramedics rushed the
suspect and the 38-year-old man
to Jamaica Hospital. Both are
Photo by Robert Stridiron
listed in stable condition, and
are expected to recover from
their injuries.
At the crime scene, officers
recovered the 9 mm firearm
that the suspect allegedly held,
along with a knife, according
to Harrison.
The chief added that police
obtained body camera footage of
the incident, which is now being
reviewed by the NYPD Force
Investigation Division as part of
its probe into the shooting.
On Saturday afternoon, the
Ozone Park Residents Block
Association and its president,
Sam Esposito, sent a statement
to TimesLedger condemning the
incident, and imploring city and
state agencies “to investigate,
look into and rescind” the
RRR Bar and Lounge’s
liquor license.
“The Ozone Park Residents
Block Association is disgusted
with the “RRR Lounge” and
the problems this location,
this element of clientele, and
the improper management
this establishment has caused
to our family community,”
the statement read. “This is
NOT the first incident and it
should be noted that this same
individual has had problems
with another bar in Brooklyn.
This not only disrupts our lives
but that of all the businesses
that cannot open while the
investigation is current and
still active. This is not a heavily
commercial block and therefore
should not be entertaining bars
of any kind.”
Relieve Pain.
Regain Your Life.
ONE ON ONE PATIENT CARE
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