A New Rochelle man was arrested after allegedly opening fire on police during a chase through a busy Yonkers neighborhood Friday afternoon.
The wild scene unfolded just before 4 p.m. in crowded Getty Square, as police attempted to execute a traffic stop at a red light and the 24-year-old man allegedly took off in his car.
After a three-minute vehicle pursuit, the man sprang from the vehicle holding a handgun and took off on foot, Yonkers Police Commissioner John Mueller said.
“This is in broad daylight. This is one of the busiest times we have in Getty Square,” Mueller said.
“Kids are coming home from school. People are coming home from work … There was a mother with a baby carriage trying to get out of the way,” Mueller said.
Over the span of several blocks, five Yonkers police officers chased the gunman down and first tried — but failed — to subdue him with a Taser.
When they then wrestled him to the ground, he fired off five shots as pedestrians — including a woman with a stroller and a boy on a bicycle — scrambled for shelter.
Video obtained by LoHud.com showed the dangerous, chaotic take-down.
“This could have been terribly tragic in so many different ways,” Mueller said.
“And it’s just a miracle and it’s just a testament to how great these officers are showing this kind of restraint.”
Both Mueller and Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano praised the officers for their heroics and level of restraint to apprehend the suspect without the use of deadly force.
“They were fired at and they were able to take this individual down without firing a shot back — putting their own lives in peril because they did not want to risk the lives of the hundreds of people that were in Getty Square,” Spano said.
One officer involved in the arrest experienced difficulty breathing and was treated at a hospital, Mueller said. Another suffered a broken finger.
The suspect has two prior gun charges and is a convicted felon, Mueller said.
The 24-year-old New Rochelle man’s name was not immediately released.
