Off-duty NYPD cop shoots man in the head after tracking his wife’s stolen car: sources

An off-duty NYPD officer shot and critically injured a man suspected of stealing his wife’s car in the Bronx on Monday night, according to law enforcement sources. 

The officer, who is part of the Public Security Section within the department’s Intelligence Bureau and frequently stationed at Gracie Mansion, discharged his firearm at around 9:10 p.m. on West 231st Street near Albany Crescent in Kingsbridge. The 30-year-old man was struck in the head, sources reported. 

The injured man was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital by private means and is listed in critical condition, police said.

The shooting occurred when the officer tracked the stolen vehicle and encountered the 30-year-old man along with another individual suspected of being involved in the theft, sources indicated.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the officer had not been arrested, and it remains uncertain whether any charges will be filed. 

He has been placed on modified duty, and the department’s Force Investigation Division is conducting an investigation, according to police sources.

Surveillance footage obtained by The Post shows two men approaching each other on the street, with one appearing to draw a firearm. The other man then stumbles back against a parked white car. 

Both men move out of the camera’s view behind the car. Moments later, the white car drives off, and the victim is seen lying on the sidewalk with someone crouched over him, as shown in the video.

Selena Roode, a resident with two children living near the shooting scene, told The Post that the victim’s girlfriend was on a call with him while he was “hiding under a car” the previous night. 

Roode, 30, mentioned she heard “multiple” gunshots and initially thought the noise was her elderly neighbor “tumbling down the stairs.” 

“When I came out, I saw [the girlfriend] visibly shaken and on speaker phone, and I overheard their conversation. I asked if she wanted me to call 911 because she seemed ready to walk out, potentially into the crossfire,” she recounted.

Roode speculated that the victim was on his way to visit his girlfriend, who resides in the same building, “when he was struck by whoever the perpetrator was.”

Some of the gunfire also shattered windows of nearby businesses, she noted.

Another building resident reported hearing “two quick pops” followed by “a lot of arguing.”

The incident occurred within the NYPD’s 50th Precinct, where three shootings involving seven victims have been reported in 2026 up to Sunday, according to department data. At the same time in 2025, no shootings were reported within the precinct’s boundaries.