Two U.S. marshals, NYPD detective injured during shootout with fugitive

http://www.washingtonpost.com/report-federal-marshals-shot-in-manhattan/2014/07/28/138237b7-163b-4caa-91c9-190fcdb43fd9_story.html?wprss=rss_homepage

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Two U.S. marshals and a New York City Police Department detective were shot Monday during a shootout in Manhattan while trying to capture a fugitive charged with child molestation, authorities said.

The suspect, Charles Mozdir, was killed, while the three law-enforcement officers were injured and taken to Bellevue Hospital for treatment.

“From what we know at this point, it appears that the injuries to the officers are not life-threatening,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said during a news conference on Monday.

The deputy marshals and the NYPD detective were part of a fugitive task force and were trying to arrest Mozdir, who had been charged with child molestation in Coronado, Calif., the U.S. Marshals Service said in a statement to The Washington Post.

Mozdir had been on the run for about two years. He had been featured on a recent installment of “The Hunt,” a new CNN series hosted by John Walsh. On Monday, Walsh told CNN that after the episode about Mozdir aired, law enforcement authorities received a tip that the fugitive was in Manhattan.

Police in Coronado said that Mozdir, who failed to show up for a court appearance on molestation charges, was wanted on a $1 million warrant. His vehicle was found hidden in a Georgia field in the summer of 2012, they said. The Coronado police also said that investigators believed that he may have been continuing to victimize young children while he was in hiding and warned that Mozdir owned a gun.

William J. Bratton, commissioner of the New York Police Department, confirmed that Mozdir had been killed during the shootout in the West Village.

Bratton appeared alongside de Blasio at a previously-scheduled news conference meant to discuss the department’s efforts at re-training officers in the wake of the death of Eric Garner, who died on July 17 after a police officer put him in a chokehold.

We have updated this story with more information as it became available. First published: 2 p.m. Last updated:4:51 p.m.