An NYPD detective, identified as Det. Corey Fisher, was shot and wounded in a "friendly fire" incident today during an attempt to apprehend a suspect involved in a series of attempted carjackings in Queens. Unfolded near the Whitestone Expressway and 22nd Road, Fisher, a 12-year veteran of the department's Queens North Warrants Squad, was hit in his right hand and left leg by gunfire from fellow officers, The Post reported. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch detailed the sequence of events, noting that the narcotics detectives were returning from serving a warrant when they came across other officers confronting the carjacking suspect.
Kevin Dubuisson, a 28-year-old with a history of violent offenses and multiple stints in prison, was the suspect. According to NYPD officials, Dubuisson did not seem to have a firearm when the confrontation occurred. The suspect was previously paroled and was out on the streets after being arrested and released for fare evasion just the day before. "There’s one person responsible for starting the chain of events that landed us in the hospital today,” Mayor Eric Adams stated, as per The Post.
The timeline of Dubuisson's activities prior to the shooting suggests a spree of attempts to forcefully take vehicles, which ended when he targeted an Uber driver with a fake weapon, assaulting the driver before being intercepted by responding officers. This account was corroborated by police statements and surveillance footage obtained by The Post. The injured Det. Fisher was transported to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he is expected to make a full recovery, officials said.
During the altercation, it was reported that three patrol officers opened fire, inadvertently striking Fisher. The incident, which quickly turned tense, was captured on bodycam footage, though specific details outside of this have been scarce. "Detectives assigned to Queens South Narcotics see the patrol officers attempting to make the apprehension and try to assist by blocking the car in," Commissioner Tisch explained to ABC7NY. Dubuisson, with ten unsealed prior arrests, including attempted robbery and assaults on police officers, was taken into custody without sustaining injuries from the police gunfire.
The conversation around the incident quickly turned to discussions on criminal reform, with Commissioner Tisch criticizing the system that allowed Dubuisson, "a violent predicate felon who pled guilty to two more robberies," to be out on the streets, as noted by The Post. Dubuisson's previous charges include numerous violent offenses, and encounters with police where he was treated as an emotionally disturbed person. His parole was scheduled to expire in October after a prior imprisonment on attempted robbery charges.
