A New York City police detective and four children were injured in separate shootings in Brooklyn over the Fourth of July weekend. NYPD Detective Robert Karroll was shot in the back of his ballistic vest during an encounter with an armed 18-year-old in Crown Heights early Sunday morning, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Karroll was taken to Kings County Hospital and is expected to recover fully. A second officer sustained injuries during the incident.
Detectives' Endowment Association President Scott Munro expressed concern over the violence, stating, "This has to stop." He noted that another detective had been shot three weeks prior. Tisch reported that officers were parked in an unmarked vehicle when a person approached, leading to the shooting, which occurred quickly and unexpectedly.
Earlier on the same day, four children were injured in a shooting in Coney Island, where at least eight people were shot. The victims included two men, two women, and four children aged 14, 12, 7, and 6. Seven of the victims were reported in stable condition, while a 21-year-old woman was in critical condition.
In the incident involving the officers, Tisch stated that the officers exited their vehicle to engage the armed suspect, who was not struck by gunfire. The police vehicle sustained ballistic damage. The suspect was apprehended after a foot chase, during which he resisted arrest. A firearm was recovered at the scene.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani expressed relief that Detective Karroll was not seriously injured and highlighted his role as a husband and father. Tisch mentioned that the officers had been reassigned to the area as part of a violence reduction plan for the holiday weekend. Investigators are seeking surveillance footage from nearby businesses, as there was no body-camera video of the shooting.