NYPD Officer Shot in the Bronx is from Southeast

Two New York City police officers were shot at the Melrose Houses in the Bronx at about 8 p.m. Thursday. Both were listed last night in stable condition at Lincoln Hospital, according to the NYPD.

One of them is Patrick Espeut, a 2004 Brewster High School graduate and a technical sergeant in the Air National Guard, The Journal News reported.

Three officers, were conducting a routine vertical patrol when they confronted two men drinking beer in a stairwell and asked for identification, police told the New York Daily News. One of the men said he had to go upstairs to get his ID, then turned and fired three times, a police official told the paper. He was armed with a .32-caliber handgun and in possession of a sawed-off shotgun in a duffel bag.

Officer Diara Cruz, 24, was hit in the torso below her bulletproof vest and underwent surgery. She is expected to survive, as is her partner, Espeut, 29, who was shot in his cheek, the Daily News reported.

Police Commissioner Bill Bratton tweeted after the incident, ”Proud of my officers, hopeful for their speedy recovery, grateful for the many expressions of concern and support on their behalf.”

The shooter was identified as 23-year-old Malik Chavis, who shot himself after telling friends he wasn’t going to go back to jail.