NEW YORK — Two off-duty EMTs parked at a White Castle restaurant heard gunshots, and rushed to help a NYPD officer shot three times during the pursuit of a suspect who evaded bus fare.
EMTs Khadija Hall and Shaun Alexander grabbed their tech bags and were able to stabilize the NYPD rookie officer James Li, 26, who was wounded in both legs and the groin, CBS New York reports. He was taken to Kings County Hospital, and is expected to make a full recovery.
Mayor Bill de Blasio honored Hall and Alexander, calling them “brave and gallant” during a ceremony after the incident. They both received plaques and small replicas of an iconic police statue.
“They are the embodiment of all that is good about New York City,” Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, told Newsday.
The incident occurred around 5 p.m. Wednesday as part of a routine stop when Li and his partner Randy Chow, 30, saw two people getting on a city bus through the back door without paying. The suspects ran off, and one turned and fired at the officers as they gave chase. Li fell to the ground in the White Castle parking lot, and the off-duty EMTs rushed to his aid.
Chow continued the pursuit, and witnesses helped point out the building where the supect to shot at the officers was hiding. Rashaun Robinson was arrested and charged with attempted murder and assault.