NEW YORK (AP) — A New York Police Department lieutenant shot in the arm by a gunman who opened fire in a police precinct was released from the hospital to cheers and applause on Monday, while the suspect in the attack on him and another police officer shooting awaited arraignment.
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Lt. Jose Gautreaux, who was wounded on Sunday morning at the 41st precinct headquarters in the Bronx, was greeted by lines of waiting officers as he left the hospital. His arm in a sling and a police jacket over his shoulders, Gautreaux got out of a wheelchair at the hospital entrance, walking to a waiting car and giving the crowd a thumbs-up. Among those marking the moment was NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea.
The suspect, Robert Williams, 45, of the Bronx, was captured at the precinct station after he walked in and started shooting shortly before 8 a.m. Sunday, police said.
That attack came just hours after Williams approached a patrol van in the same part of the Bronx on Saturday night and fired at two officers inside, wounding one before escaping on foot, police said.
The officer who was wounded in that earlier attack, Paul Stroffolino, was released from the hospital on Sunday evening.
Williams faces charges including attempted murder, criminal weapon possession and resisting arrest, and was awaiting arraignment, authorities said.
He was hospitalized as of Sunday evening, the Bronx prosecutor’s office said. It wasn’t clear whether he had an attorney to speak for him.
Police said Williams had a long criminal history, including a 2002 shooting and carjacking in which he fired a gun at police. He was paroled from prison in 2017.
Just one day after getting shot through the arm by a career criminal bent on killing New York City cops, @NYPD41Pct Lieutenant Gautreaux goes home today to recuperate.
On behalf of every member of the NYPD, I wish him a speedy recovery and thank him for his service to all NYers. pic.twitter.com/aVhHrjSbo9
— Commissioner Shea (@NYPDShea) February 10, 2020
this shooter really had horrible aim, the 3 people he shot got out of the hospital within 24 hours, people with the flu stay in the hospital longer.