NYPD: Cop Gunfire Hit 2 During Shootout With Suspect

What to Know

• Police say the two bystanders who were hit during a police shootout in the Bronx were hit by police gunfire[hhmc]

• The woman and the 12-year-old girl were hit in the at around 6 p.m. Wednesday in the area of West 183rd Street and Loring Place[hhmc]

• The suspect was caught and arrested; no police officers were shot during the shootout[hhmc]

The two bystanders who were shot during a police shootout with a drug suspect in the Bronx Wednesday evening were likely hit by police fire, police say.

The 46-year-old woman, Irene Urena Perez, remains in critical condition after being shot in the stomach, police said. The 12-year-old girl is in stable condition after bullet fragments hit her in the leg.

Perez had been walking out of work at a day care in a building by West 183rd Street and Loring Place Wednesday evening when she was struck by a bullet, according to her co-worker, Josie Perez.

Josie Perez says the two of them had walked out of work together around 6 p.m., along with a child they care for — but Josie forgot something and rushed back into the building. That's when she heard gunfire and ran out, picked up the little boy and took him back into the day care center.

Woman, Girl Shot During Drug Suspect Shootout With NYPD

Josie ran out again to find Irene on the ground, bleeding, and called 911.

Another witness, Anthony Bell, also called 911 when he saw the drug suspect running down the block, shooting at someone.

"I just heard 'bam, bam,' saw the guy running down the block," he told News 4 New York.

Police said officers fired at least 20 rounds after the suspect pulled out a gun and fired rounds inside a lobby in a building nearby during the shady drug deal. A 12-year-old girl was also hit by bullet fragments during the shootout.

The suspect, 37-year-old Edwin Castillo-Concepcion of the Bronx, was taken to Saint Barnabas Hospital for treatment of gunshot wounds to the neck and foot. He's expected to survive and is facing charges of attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon.

No police officers were shot during the shootout but they were taken to Jacobi Hospital for observation.

[contf] [contfnew]

NBC

[contfnewc] [contfnewc]