On Tuesday evening, around six o’clock, a dangerous scene of a shootout between police and criminals occurred in Queens, New York City. Rich Wong, a 36-year-old Chinese American police officer, and a 26-year-old female pedestrian were both shot and injured in the legs, while 57-year-old African American male robber, Gary Werthy, was killed in the gun battle. Police stated that Werthy had a record of seven previous arrests and was a professional criminal.
According to the police department, at around 5:35 p.m. on the 19th, authorities received a report from the public about a robber in a grocery store on Hillside Avenue in Jamaica Hills, threatening the store employees and customers with a gun and firing a shot inside the store. Witnesses provided a description of Werthy’s appearance to the police.
At 6:24 p.m., while the police were conducting a search operation, another report came in about an armed robbery at a tobacco shop located at 192-18 Guy Brewer Boulevard. The robber, who fired a shot inside the store, was identified by the police as Werthy, who had earlier committed the robbery at the grocery store.
When Officer Wong and his colleagues from the 103rd Precinct found Werthy at the intersection of 161st Street and Jamaica Avenue, Werthy refused to drop his weapon as instructed by the police. He attempted to flee the scene and fired at the officers, hitting Wong in the thigh.
Wong also fired back at Werthy, hitting him in the face. Werthy was pronounced dead around 7 p.m. after being rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.
Police confirmed that the deceased Werthy was a 57-year-old African American who resided in Queens. He had a criminal record with 17 offenses, including murder, robbery, burglary, drug possession, and was under lifetime parole for possessing firearms.
Werthy’s latest arrest happened just 6 days before the incident when he was caught with drugs and resisted arrest. Despite being under lifetime parole, Werthy had been arrested seven times from 2021 till now. He was also wanted by the police for committing armed robberies on Halloween and November 15.
Following the shootout, Mayor Eric Adams, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Acting NYPD Commissioner Thomas Donlon, senior police officials, and Police Union President Patrick Hendry held a press conference at Jamaica Hospital.
Mayor Adams mentioned that Officer Wong and the innocent female pedestrian would be released from the hospital that night, but the trauma of the shooting incident would stay with them even after they leave the hospital.
Adams emphasized that police officers, regardless of gender, face unforeseen incidents every day but continue to safeguard the safety of the public in dangerous situations. He also mentioned that Werthy, the deceased robber, disregarded the safety of the public, leading to innocent people being shot.
Police Union President Hendry strongly condemned the collapse of the criminal justice system in New York City and called for an immediate overhaul of the criminal justice structure from top to bottom.