Off-duty NYPD officer shot in Harlem released from hospital

NEW YORK - An off-duty NYPD officer has been released from the hospital after being shot in the foot in Harlem on Saturday afternoon.

NYPD officials said the off-duty officer was attending a vigil for a revered community member at the Manhattanville Houses around 4:30 p.m. Chief Jeffrey Maddrey, head of the NYPD's Housing Bureau, said the officer saw two men firing gunshots as he was leaving the building and appeared to have been struck as he was diving for cover. 

The officer was able to describe the two suspects to responding officers and tried to help with their apprehension.

The officer then felt pain in his left foot, was examined by EMTs, and discovered he had been shot in the foot.

The Officer was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, and the injury is not serious.

Authorities said that an earlier dispute the officer was not involved with may have led to the shooting.

"This is very painful. It’s very hurtful. Our people and our communities, our neighborhoods, we shouldn’t have to live like this," Maddrey said. "We should be able to walk freely. We should be able to shop and do the things that we love and we shouldn’t have to worry about gun violence."

The investigation is in the early stages and no arrests have been made yet.

This is the seventh officer shot in New York City already this year. Two men were arrested for the shooting and attempted carjacking of a 22-year-old off-duty NYPD officer in Queens earlier this week.

On Wednesday, a funeral was held for NYPD Det. Wilbert Mora, 27, who was gunned down in Harlem last month alongside Det. Jason Rivera, 21.

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