A 28-year-old on-duty NYPD officer was taken to a local hospital in stable condition after someone ignited a firework and threw it in his direction while he conducted crowd control near 101 Avenue and 118 Street in Queens on Sunday night. Two unidentified people then fled on foot, heading north on 118 Street, leaving investigators from the 102 Precinct searching for answers.
According to NYPD Crime Stoppers
, the incident unfolded at approximately 9:19 p.m. as the officer worked crowd control in the area. One unidentified individual is said to have lit the firework, while a second unidentified individual threw it toward the officer, who was then removed to the hospital.
Crime Stoppers is now asking the public for help identifying the pair responsible. Tips can be sent by direct message to @nypdtips or by phone at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), and the agency says an anonymous tip leading to an arrest and indictment could be worth up to $3,500.
What Investigators Haven't Said
The post from Crime Stoppers does not describe the suspects or specify the extent of any injury to the officer beyond noting his stable condition and hospital transport. No arrests have been announced in connection with the Queens incident as of this report.
Under New York law, the kind of conduct Crime Stoppers is investigating falls under reckless endangerment, which the New York State Senate classifies as a class D felony in its first-degree form. Separately, NYC311 notes that all consumer fireworks, including sparklers, are illegal to use, buy, sell, or transport anywhere in New York City.
A Pattern of Fireworks Turned Against Officers
Sunday's incident isn't the first time fireworks have been aimed at NYPD officers or caused injury during gatherings in the city. In 2021, four on-duty officers were taken to hospitals after an apparent fireworks incident in a parking lot near Citi Field in Queens, an episode that NYPD at the time called part of an active and ongoing investigation, as reported by NBC New York.
In a separate case out of Brooklyn, the NYPD released video showing a man throwing lit fireworks in the direction of officers and a patrol car around 11:30 p.m. on June 14, with no injuries reported, according to Police1. And on Staten Island, a city parks worker was charged with reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child after police said he helped a 10-year-old girl light a firework that severely injured her hand, as detailed by Gothamist.
For now, the two people who fled north on 118 Street after Sunday's incident remain unidentified, and NYPD Crime Stoppers is relying on the public to help close the case.
