Surveillance images were released by the NYPD Tuesday of a driver wanted for shooting at cops after leading them on a high-speed chase that ended in a fiery crash.
“This violent criminal must be stopped before he hurts or kills someone,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry tweeted.
Cops tried to pull the man over in his 2004 Acura TL with Connecticut license plates near 36th Ave. and 34th St. in Astoria, Queens, for driving recklessly just before 8 p.m. Saturday.
The driver slammed into a vehicle 3 miles away on a quiet strip of Kingsland Ave. near Greenpoint Ave. in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. One of the vehicles caught fire and careened into a parked box truck
The Acura driver, who was wearing a red shirt and black shorts, managed to get out of his mangled car and ran off, police said.
“Our officers were able to track him down, but instead of giving up and turning himself in, he chose to take out a loaded firearm and shoot at a uniformed NYPD officer,” Daughtry tweeted. “Thankfully, the officer wasn’t struck.”
One pursuing officer returned fire but didn’t hit anyone. One of the cops was taken to an area hospital for evaluation but was not struck.
The shooter jumped over a fence and escaped under the Greenpoint Ave. bridge, police said.
Tracking surveillance footage, cops learned the man was at a deli on 31st St. in Queens, which he may frequent, shortly before cops tried to pull him over.
Cops have been circulating wanted posters with images of the suspect in the hopes someone recognizes him. The man “should be considered armed and dangerous,” the wanted poster notes.
“Helping to catch him will save further victims from this one-man crime spree,” Daughtry said. “Help us give him somewhere new to run — the treadmill on Rikers Island.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.