Brooklyn subway station shooting, A 69-year-old retired correction officer shot and killed a man inside a Brooklyn subway station during a confrontation at the height of the evening rush on Tuesday, law enforcement officials said.
The shooting happened just before 6:45 p.m. on the mezzanine level of the Borough Hall subway station in Downtown Brooklyn, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said. The police said the man was shot after an altercation on a train on the Nos. 4 and 5 line.
After a preliminary investigation, the police said the retired officer, who was armed with a 9-millimeter handgun in a holster, encountered two younger men while riding a southbound train. The older man stepped between the two, friends who were having a conversation, the police said, at which point an argument ensued. The argument turned physical on the train, the police said, and one of the younger men spit on the retired officer.
The three men separated, and the train pulled into the Borough Hall station shortly after 6:30 p.m., the police said.
But on a mezzanine level of the station, the police said, the men encountered one another again and an argument again escalated into a physical confrontation. At one point, one of the men grabbed the retired officer from behind, the police said, and the older man pulled the gun from its holster.
At least one shot went off, the police said, striking one of the younger men in the chest. He was taken to Brooklyn Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead. The police identified him early Wednesday morning as Gilbert Drogheo, 32.
The 69-year-old man, who was identified by a law enforcement official on Wednesday as Wiliam Groomes, was taken in police custody to Long Island College Hospital for treatment and was later released. The other younger man, who the police say is 29, was taken to a nearby police station for questioning. The police had not released his name. No charges had been filed as of Wednesday morning.
Norman Seabrook, the president of the New York City Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, cautioned the public not to rush to a conclusion.
“I believe that we should wait until all circumstances are in before rushing to judgment,” Mr. Seabrook said.
Mr. Seabrook said there was a confrontation and the former officer was “forced to use his weapon.”
A bystander filmed part of the confrontation on a cellphone, and it was shown Tuesday night on WCBS. The video shows a taller, older man approaching a younger man and shoving him. The two briefly struggle before a gunshot is heard. It was not clear what happened right before or after the video was taken.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene at the station. After the shooting, trains briefly bypassed the station because of the police investigation, the transportation agency said on Twitter.
Nick Sonderup, 38, a creative director for an advertising firm in Manhattan, said he was on his way to meet a friend for dinner in Brooklyn Heights when he stopped at the station to buy an umbrella.
“He was giving me my change,” he said of the vendor. “I opened my umbrella and then I heard the shots.”
Mr. Sonderup said he heard two or three shots. He said he paused to consider what he had heard, then “ran like hell.”
The shooting happened just before 6:45 p.m. on the mezzanine level of the Borough Hall subway station in Downtown Brooklyn, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said. The police said the man was shot after an altercation on a train on the Nos. 4 and 5 line.
After a preliminary investigation, the police said the retired officer, who was armed with a 9-millimeter handgun in a holster, encountered two younger men while riding a southbound train. The older man stepped between the two, friends who were having a conversation, the police said, at which point an argument ensued. The argument turned physical on the train, the police said, and one of the younger men spit on the retired officer.
The three men separated, and the train pulled into the Borough Hall station shortly after 6:30 p.m., the police said.
But on a mezzanine level of the station, the police said, the men encountered one another again and an argument again escalated into a physical confrontation. At one point, one of the men grabbed the retired officer from behind, the police said, and the older man pulled the gun from its holster.
At least one shot went off, the police said, striking one of the younger men in the chest. He was taken to Brooklyn Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead. The police identified him early Wednesday morning as Gilbert Drogheo, 32.
The 69-year-old man, who was identified by a law enforcement official on Wednesday as Wiliam Groomes, was taken in police custody to Long Island College Hospital for treatment and was later released. The other younger man, who the police say is 29, was taken to a nearby police station for questioning. The police had not released his name. No charges had been filed as of Wednesday morning.
Norman Seabrook, the president of the New York City Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, cautioned the public not to rush to a conclusion.
“I believe that we should wait until all circumstances are in before rushing to judgment,” Mr. Seabrook said.
Mr. Seabrook said there was a confrontation and the former officer was “forced to use his weapon.”
A bystander filmed part of the confrontation on a cellphone, and it was shown Tuesday night on WCBS. The video shows a taller, older man approaching a younger man and shoving him. The two briefly struggle before a gunshot is heard. It was not clear what happened right before or after the video was taken.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene at the station. After the shooting, trains briefly bypassed the station because of the police investigation, the transportation agency said on Twitter.
Nick Sonderup, 38, a creative director for an advertising firm in Manhattan, said he was on his way to meet a friend for dinner in Brooklyn Heights when he stopped at the station to buy an umbrella.
“He was giving me my change,” he said of the vendor. “I opened my umbrella and then I heard the shots.”
Mr. Sonderup said he heard two or three shots. He said he paused to consider what he had heard, then “ran like hell.”
