Two New York city police officers are in stable condition this morning after being shot in a Bronx public housing project stairwell yesterday evening. According to reports 24-year-old Diara Cruz and Patrick Espeut, 29, were on routine patrol in the Melrose Houses complex when the gunman, 23-year-old Malik Chavis, hit Cruz in the abdomen below her bulletproof vest and Espeut in the face. Responding officers followed Chavis as he ran into a seventh floor apartment, but found him dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after he allegedly told his accomplices "I just shot a policewoman. I ain't going back to jail." The slain suspect had been arrested 17 times since 2007 for severe criminal charges.
Local residents shared conflicting accounts of the incident, which can be viewed above.
Source: NY Daily News | AP
