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N.Y.P.D. Officer Saved by Vest in Harlem Shooting as Naked Suspect Is Killed A Naked Man, a Frantic 911 Call, a Deadly Police Encounter
(about 3 hours later)
Police officers shot and killed a naked man armed with a gun during a struggle in the hallway of a Harlem building just after 2 a.m. on Wednesday, law enforcement officials said. One officer was also hit by a bullet during the confrontation but survived. Selina McNeal called the police just before 2 a.m. on Wednesday because the superintendent of her apartment building was screaming obscenities and breaking glass in the hallway. She briefly opened her door and spotted him, completely naked, she said.
It was the fifth deadly shooting by the New York police in the last month. Minutes later, eight uniformed police officers arrived, pouring out of an elevator. As Ms. McNeal hid under the bed, she heard a struggle and officers yelling, “Shoot him! Shoot him!” Then came a series of shots. “Pop, pop, pop, pop,” she said.
The man, 29, was identified by family and neighbors as Victor Hernandez, a father of two who was the building’s superintendent. In a matter of seconds, the police officers shot and killed the superintendent, who they said had pointed a gun at them. One officer grappled with the naked man before the shooting started and was shot in the chest during the struggle, the police said. His bulletproof vest stopped the slug.
Eight uniformed officers had responded to a call from a resident in the building who said someone had been banging on her door and breaking glass. It was unclear whether the injured officer, Christopher Wintermute, had been shot by the building’s superintendent or by his fellow officers during the fight. But the killing of the man, Victor Hernandez, 29, was the fifth deadly shooting by the New York police in a month.
They were searching the second-floor hallway of 2785 Frederick Douglass Boulevard when one of the officers encountered a naked man armed with a 9-millimeter pistol, the police commissioner, James P. O’Neill, said. “I did not want him dead,” Ms. McNeal said, hours after she first called the police. “I just wanted to find out what was going on.”
“A violent struggle immediately began and shots were fired,” the commissioner said. Mr. Hernandez, a father of two and the son of a police officer, had become the building’s superintendent fairly recently, his family members and neighbors said. Ms. McNeal said that before she called 911, Mr. Hernandez had been yelling in the hall for about 20 minutes, making vulgar threats about a woman.
The officer yelled for help as he struggled with the man and other officers opened fire, hitting him several times, mortally wounding him. The police commissioner, James P. O’Neill, said the officers arrived at about 1:50 a.m. and fanned out to search the second-floor hallway of the building, at 2785 Frederick Douglass Boulevard. One of them — later identified as Officer Wintermute — encountered the naked man, who pointed a 9-millimeter pistol at the officer, Mr. O’Neill said.
The officer who was grappling with the man was also hit, but his bulletproof vest stopped the slug, the commissioner said, noting that he had reviewed footage recorded on the officers’ body cameras. “A violent struggle immediately began and shots were fired,” the commissioner said, noting that he had reviewed footage recorded on the officers’ body cameras.
The man was taken to Harlem Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead. Commissioner O’Neill said that he had been arrested and accused of domestic violence in the past. It was unclear if the man had fired his gun.
The resident who called the police, Selina McNeal, identified the dead man as “Victor,” the superintendent. Officer Wintermute yelled for help as he struggled with Mr. Hernandez and other officers opened fire, hitting the superintendent several times, the commissioner said. Officials have not said if the gun Mr. Hernandez was carrying was loaded or if he had fired it.
Ms. McNeal said he had been yelling and screaming in the hall for about 20 minutes, making vulgar threats about a woman, before she called 911. Mr. Hernandez was taken to Harlem Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead.
She said she briefly opened the door and saw the man. “He was butt-naked,” Ms. McNeal said. “But I didn’t see a gun. I saw something that looked like a laptop or a tablet.” Commissioner O’Neill said Mr. Hernandez had been the subject of domestic complaints in the past. Officials later said that he was arrested in 2014 for criminal mischief and contempt. He has never been accused of any crime involving drugs, weapons or violence, officials and family members said.
Ms. McNeal then shut the door. Minutes later, she said, the police arrived, pouring out of the elevator. She heard a struggle and then officers yelling, “Shoot him! Shoot him! Shoot him!” Ten shots rang out in quick succession, she said. “Pop, pop, pop, pop.” Ms. McNeal said that when she briefly opened the door and saw Mr. Hernandez, she did not see a weapon in his hands. “I saw something that looked like a laptop or a tablet,” she said.
Then she heard officers shout, “Watch the fire.” Shortly afterward, she said she heard them yelling at one another, “Where is the gun?” During the shooting, Ms. McNeal said, she was hiding under her bed in tears. After the shots rang out, she heard officers shout, “Watch the fire.” Shortly afterward, she said she heard them yelling at one another, “Where is the gun?”
During the shooting, Ms. McNeal said, she was hiding under her bed in tears. After the confrontation ended, she again opened the door and saw the man lying on the floor face up. The police later told her that what she thought was a tablet was actually a gun. After the confrontation ended, Ms. McNeal again opened the door and saw Mr. Hernandez lying on the floor face up. The police later told her that what she thought was a tablet was actually a firearm.
“I’m still crying,” Ms. McNeal said. “I close my eyes and it’s all I can see and hear.”“I’m still crying,” Ms. McNeal said. “I close my eyes and it’s all I can see and hear.”
The officer who was shot was also punched several times in the face and was being treated at a hospital, Commissioner O’Neill said. Mr. Hernandez’s family members and neighbors remembered him as a dedicated father to a 6-year old daughter and an older son, a caring relative and an ambitious man who worked hard.
Mr. Hernandez was remembered by family members and neighbors as a kind, ambitious man who was close to his relatives and loved his children, a 6-year-old daughter and an older son. His aunt, Ana Martinez, said Mr. Hernandez grew up in the Crotona Park East neighborhood of the Bronx. He had taken the police officer and firefighter exams and was studying at Bronx Community College, she said.
His aunt, Ana Martinez, said Mr. Hernandez grew up in the Crotona Park East neighborhood of the Bronx. He had taken the police and fire exam and was studying at Bronx Community College, she said. Mr. Hernandez’s ex-wife lived in the Bronx’s Throgs Neck neighborhood, Ms. Martinez said. The two had been fighting over custody of their children, and the domestic accusations stemmed from arguments between them, Ms. Martinez said.
Mr. Hernandez’s ex-wife lived in Throgs Neck, also in the Bronx, Ms. Martinez said. The two had been fighting over custody of their children, and the domestic violence accusations stemmed from arguments between them, Ms. Martinez said. The ex-wife, Jaimily Hernandez, declined to comment.
Mr. Hernandez’s mother, Maria, had spent 19 years as a New York police officer, and he wanted to follow in her footsteps, according to Ms. Martinez. Mr. Hernandez also had relatives who were law enforcement officers in Milwaukee, Florida and Puerto Rico. Mr. Hernandez’s mother, Maria, has spent 19 years as a New York police officer, most recently in the Bronx, and he wanted to follow in her footsteps, according to Ms. Martinez. Mr. Hernandez also had relatives who were law enforcement officers in Milwaukee, Florida and Puerto Rico.
Given Mr. Hernandez’s ties to the police, Ms. Martinez said, she doubted her nephew would have fired at police officers. Given Mr. Hernandez came from a law-enforcement family, Ms. Martinez said, she doubted her nephew would have acted violently toward police officers, and she disputed the characterization of him as emotionally disturbed or violent.
In a tribute posted to Facebook, Mr. Hernandez’s sister, Melissa, called her brother her best friend and protector, describing him as hardworking, creative and loving. “They’re depicting him like he was some kind of psycho or something and he was a menace to society, but he was a person,” Ms. Martinez said. “His mom was on the force for 19 years. She served that city for 19 years, and they murdered her son.”
Mr. Hernandez “was always good at everything,” she wrote. He learned to play piano by ear, taught himself to make high-quality videos just months after buying a camera, and had strong technical and mechanical skills. In a tribute posted to Facebook, Mr. Hernandez’s younger sister, Melissa, said her brother had been her best friend and her protector, an industrious, creative and loving person.
Mr. Hernandez “was always good at everything,” she wrote. He learned to play piano by ear, taught himself to make high-quality videos and had strong technical and mechanical skills.
“My brother could do so many things, and it was always clear to me that he was destined for greatness,” wrote Mr. Hernandez’s sister, who declined to comment further. “Unfortunately, he’ll never get to use any of his many skills.”“My brother could do so many things, and it was always clear to me that he was destined for greatness,” wrote Mr. Hernandez’s sister, who declined to comment further. “Unfortunately, he’ll never get to use any of his many skills.”
Hours before the shooting, Mr. Hernandez had dinner at a cousin’s house, Ms. Martinez said. He had also picked up his mother from the airport, where she had returned from a vacation in the Dominican Republic. Hours before the shooting, Mr. Hernandez ate dinner at a cousin’s house, Ms. Martinez said. He had also picked up his mother from the airport, where she had returned from a vacation in the Dominican Republic.
About 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Ms. Martinez said she received a call from her sister, who was screaming, “They killed my son!” Over text message, his mother, Maria Hernandez, said, “His only contact with the police before this was domestic with his wife.”
Maria Hernandez declined to comment. She declined to comment further, saying: “Just know Victor was a kind gentle soul. And my entire world.”
In Harlem, neighbors said they knew Mr. Hernandez as a quiet man. Jerome Selassie, 55, who owns the corner store across the street from the site of the shooting, said he saw Mr. Hernandez often and never knew him to be violent. In Harlem, neighbors said Mr. Hernandez seemed in public to be a quiet, calm person.
“He was always polite, smiling,” Mr. Selassie said. “I saw him last night, at around midnight. He was running to his apartment because it was raining. He waved at me. That was the last time I saw him. He looked O.K. to me.” Pedro Ramos, 44, who lives on the seventh floor of the building, said he had befriended Mr. Hernandez.
“He was a sane, good guy,” Mr. Ramos said with a tone of disbelief. “This shocks me.”
Jerome Selassie, 55, who owns the corner store across the street from the site of the shooting, said he saw Mr. Hernandez often and never knew him to be violent.
“I saw him last night, at around midnight,” Mr. Selassie said. “He was running to his apartment because it was raining. He waved at me. That was the last time I saw him. He looked O.K. to me.”
The shooting took place across from the offices of Police Service Area 6, which serves several public housing developments in Harlem. Officers walking out of the building on Wednesday shook their heads somberly and cautioned one another to “be safe.”The shooting took place across from the offices of Police Service Area 6, which serves several public housing developments in Harlem. Officers walking out of the building on Wednesday shook their heads somberly and cautioned one another to “be safe.”
“It’s crazy that it happened right in front of the precinct,” said Fred Marshall, 44, who lives in the area.“It’s crazy that it happened right in front of the precinct,” said Fred Marshall, 44, who lives in the area.
He added: “Why do they always have to kill them, man? There are other things they could have done to put him down.”He added: “Why do they always have to kill them, man? There are other things they could have done to put him down.”
The officer who was shot was taken to Mount Sinai St. Luke’s hospital, where he was in “good spirits” after the shooting, Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference. Officer Wintermute, 32, has been on the police force for seven years, working most of that time on patrol in the 32nd Precinct in Harlem. His wife is also a police officer.
The officer, who has not yet been identified, is a seven-year veteran of the force whose wife is also a police officer. He is 32 years old. During the struggle with Mr. Hernandez, Officer Wintermute was punched several times in the face and took the impact of the bullet hitting his Kevlar vest, officials said. Mayor Bill de Blasio said he was in “good spirits” after the shooting, and he was released from Mount Sinai St. Luke’s hospital a few hours later. Fellow officers applauded him as he was taken in a wheelchair to a waiting police van.
He was released from the hospital in a wheelchair less than six hours after the shooting and was met from applause by fellow officers as he was escorted to a waiting police van. The police have shot and killed five people since Sept. 29, when Officer Brian Mulkeen and a armed man he was trying to arrest were killed in a police fusillade in the Bronx. Four of the shootings occurred in the past eight days.
The police have shot and killed five people since Sept. 29, when Officer Brian Mulkeen was killed in a police fusillade while struggling with an armed man in the Bronx.
On Oct. 15, in two separate encounters, officers fatally shot two armed men, one in the Gowanus Houses in Brooklyn and one at the 225th Street subway station in the Bronx. Two days later, also in the Bronx, a police sergeant shot and killed a man during a traffic stop.On Oct. 15, in two separate encounters, officers fatally shot two armed men, one in the Gowanus Houses in Brooklyn and one at the 225th Street subway station in the Bronx. Two days later, also in the Bronx, a police sergeant shot and killed a man during a traffic stop.
Officer Mulkeen was the second officer to be killed by “friendly fire” this year. In February, Detective Brian Simonsen was hit in the chest and killed as he and other officers were firing at a robber in a cellphone store in Queens. The robber turned out to have a fake gun.Officer Mulkeen was the second officer to be killed by “friendly fire” this year. In February, Detective Brian Simonsen was hit in the chest and killed as he and other officers were firing at a robber in a cellphone store in Queens. The robber turned out to have a fake gun.
Ms. Martinez said Mr. Hernandez sometimes expressed fear for his mother’s safety because she was a police officer. But his family also feared for his.
“We always told them if the police stop you, you make sure you be respectful and give them whatever they want because you don’t want them to shoot you,” Ms. Martinez recalled. “It’s hard when you have minority children, especially boys, and you have to tell them that.”