NYPD detectives opened fire on four armed men when a wild gunfight erupted in front of them at a Queens house party, police said Saturday.
Two teen boys and two men were wounded in the gunplay late Friday night. It was not clear Saturday if the officers’ bullets hit any of the victims, one of whom was in critical but stable condition, said cops.
The plainclothes officers, members of the Queens violent crime squad, were monitoring a house party on 219th St. near 130th Ave. in Springfield Gardens about 11:30 p.m. Friday when a group of men stepped into the intersection and opened fire on people standing outside, said police.
“[The suspects] pulled out at least three firearms and began firing in the vicinity where the party was at,” NYPD Chief of Patrol Jeffrey Maddrey said at a press conference early Saturday.
The shooters “were basically firing into a crowd,” Maddrey said. From 75 to 100 people were attending the party, he added.
The undercover officers responded promptly, Maddrey and other police sources said.
“When the detectives got out of their car and identified themselves, [the suspects] kept shooting, so the cops opened fire,” a high-ranking police source told the Daily News.
Some attending the party fired back at the suspects before the cops could draw their weapons, said police sources.
At least one bullet hit the window of a neighbor’s front door.
“It went through the door and hit the stairs,” said the neighbor, a retired nurse who asked not to be identified. “That bullet could’ve hit me if I was going up the stairs. I didn’t know it was a gunshot. I thought somebody threw something at the door.”
When the retired nurse stepped outside, she saw panicked revelers scrambling for cover as the gunfight continued.
“The kids were just running. They didn’t know what the hell happened,” she recalled. “They were calling their parents. One girl fell and cut her leg, and I gave her paper towels.”
A 16-year-old boy and two men, 18 and 24, lay wounded in the street, cops said. All three were rushed to Jamaica Hospital, where the 18-year-old was in critical but stable condition on Saturday. The two others had minor injuries.
Three firearms were recovered at the scene, Maddrey said.
As the wounded men were cared for, a 17-year-old also attending the party showed up at another area hospital with a minor gunshot wound, cops said.
He and the three other victims were taken into custody for participating in the gunfight and were being questioned Saturday. Criminal charges were pending.
Two of the four suspects, who are believed to be Bloods members, have criminal records, police sources said. At least one had been arrested before on a gun charge.
“These detectives were very lucky,” Detectives Endowment Association President Paul DiGiacomo told the Daily News Saturday. “They were just 10 feet away from the shooters when this happened.”
None of the officers were injured.
The gunfight shocked people in the neighborhood, which the nurse said is home to “a lot of city workers, government workers, retirees.”
“I never experienced something like that happening,” the nurse said. “It’s very quiet — the neighborhood looks out for each other.”
The detectives, who were in an unmarked car, were at the scene because police believed “there would be violence there between the local street crews,” Maddrey said Saturday.
“There were a lot of people out here when this occurred, and anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers,” Maddrey said.
Neighbors said a woman who lives at the 219th St. address threw the bullet-riddled bash for her son. She often holds parties, especially in the warmer months, residents said.
“The mother said they was getting ready to end the party and the people attending the party was never outside,” said another neighbor who wished not to be named. “The party is always involved in the back and the gate was closed.”
The people outside, including the gunmen, may have been party crashers, neighbors suspected.
“None of the attendees were outside. Someone just decided to drive by and shoot,” the neighbor said. “Because the police was here already, they engaged them.
“I hope it’s the perpetrators that got shot,” the neighbor added.
The owner of the party house was “shaken up” Saturday, the neighbor explained.
“The whole family lives there. They have events all the time. They have two teenagers and a little one,” she said. “They’re hardworking people and there’s no drama over here, so this was a big surprise.”
The homeowner declined to comment when reached by The News.
The bloodbath took place as cops saw 13% more shootings in July 2022 than in July 2021. Police counted 178 shooting incidents last month, up from 157 in July 2021.
