Police recovered this .45 caliber Smith and Wesson handgun. (Credit: DCPI)
The man police said shot a rookie officer in Brooklyn on Wednesday was charged with multiple counts of attempted murder and other offenses, the NYPD said Thursday.
Rashun Robinson, 28, was charged with two counts each of aggravated attempted murder and attempted murder in both the first and second degrees. He was also charged with assault and attempted assault on a police officer, two counts each of criminal use of a firearm, criminal possession of a weapon, reckless endangerment and resisting arrest.
Police said Robinson shot at officers James Li and Randy Chow after being caught with another man trying to evade bus fare.
Li and Chow, both December graduates of the police academy, were on patrol in the vicinity of Utica Avenue and Empire Boulevard in Crown Heights at approximately 5 p.m. when they spotted Robinson and another man enter a southbound B46 bus through the rear door, police said.
As Li and Chow removed the men from the bus, one of the suspects fled westbound on Empire Boulevard. A chase ensued, and Robinson allegedly turned around and shot at the officers, striking Li.
Both Li and Chow shot back, with Li firing his weapon five times and Chao firing twice, Police Chief Philip Banks said at a news briefing Wednesday.
Banks added that good Samaritans stopped to aid Li on the ground and also directed responding officers to the direction of the shooter.
Police eventually apprehended Robinson on the fifth floor of 455 Schenectady Ave. Cops said a .45-caliber Smith and Wesson handgun was also recovered at the scene. He was not injured when he was taken into custody, Banks said.
Robinson had six prior arrests, and he had an active warrant from Pennsylvania for the manufacture and distribution of narcotics.
“This was just a great police of police work on the part of the initiating officers, as well as the pursuing officers and the apprehension of this suspect with a loaded firearm, who showed no compunction whatsoever about turning and firing three times at the officers,” Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said.
“So a dangerous felon, now off the street, another firearm off the street, all as a result of very good police work by two rookie police officers, who I’m pleased to have as members of the New York City police department,” he added.
Li was treated at Kings County Hospital for injuries to his left thigh, right thigh and his groin, Banks said. A third officer who fell and cut her chin during the chase was also treated at Kings County Hospital.
“I have to tell you that Officer Li and Officer Chao really did everything we could conceivably have asked of them,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio after meeting with the officers at the hospital. “They did everything a good cop does, and they’ve only been on the job for a few months. And yet they responded like seasoned veterans. And it’s something we, as New Yorkers, should be very, very proud of.”
