West Side Highway Shut Down After Shots Fired During Traffic Stop

NEW YORK, NY — A stretch of the West Side Highway was shut down Thursday afternoon following a law enforcement-involved shooting during a traffic stop, a spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Administration confirmed.

DEA Agents and New York State Police officers pulled over a vehicle on the West Side Highway and West 50th Street around noon Thursday as part of an ongoing investigation into a drug trafficking ring operating in the Bronx, a DEA spokeswoman said. When the driver of the vehicle "endangered the lives of officers and passersby," agents fired shots at the vehicle, the spokeswoman said.

Nobody was injured during the shooting and the suspect fled the scene, the DEA spokeswoman said. The man was later arrested on West 262nd Street and Broadway in the Bronx and more arrests are expected, officials said.

Police shut down the West Side Highway in both directions between West 42nd and West 56th streets following the shooting, the local NYPD precinct said on social media. Two northbound lanes were reopened around 2:20 p.m., the Midtown North Precinct announced.

A New York State Police spokesman could not immediately comment on the shooting. Patch will update this article if we hear back from the state police.

Photo courtesy Twitter user @DraftRyan2016