According to authorities, an armed robbery suspect who was thought to have committed several robberies in a single hour shot an NYPD officer and another lady in Queens.
Around 5:30 p.m., police said, they received a 911 call reporting a robbery in progress at a deli on Hillside Avenue close to 164th Street in Jamaica. A man with a black pistol had come in and was threatening both customers and employees. According to authorities, he then fired once before fleeing the scene.
A witness alerted police to a man on Jamaica Avenue and 160th Street while they were searching for the culprit. According to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny, the witness informed officers that the individual had just robbed a tobacco shop on Guy Brewer Boulevard and fired a gun during the heist.
Two uniformed and on-duty neighborhood coordination officers approached a man who matched the description of the robbery suspect around 6:30 p.m., approximately one hour after the initial heist. Despite their orders to stop, he fled and pulled out a revolver.
At a press conference from the hospital, Kenny stated that the suspect fired once after being told to surrender his firearm, striking Officer Rich Wong in the leg. The suspect was then hit in the face by Wong’s return fire.
Police identified the suspect as Gary Worthy, 57, who was brought to Jamaica Hospital, where he was declared dead shortly after 7 p.m.
Despite being hospitalized, Wong, a seven-year NYPD veteran, was anticipated to fully recover, according to authorities.
According to Kenny, a 26-year-old woman was also shot during one of the encounters, with a bullet hitting her in the leg while she was shopping. She was supposed to heal as well, though it wasn’t immediately obvious who had shot her.
Worthy was referred to by Mayor Eric Adams as a careless criminal who allegedly displayed a total disdain for human life.
According to NYPD Chief Kenny, Worth had been arrested 17 times before on allegations of robbery, homicide, and drug possession. He had been on lifetime parole and had been arrested for resisting police and possession of drugs just six days prior to Tuesday’s assault. But following that arrest, he was set free.
According to authorities, Worthy was wanted for three further robberies at gunpoint and had been arrested for seven other offenses since 2001. Those robberies, which took place on Halloween and earlier in November, also involved gunfire.
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