The New York Police Department announced Monday the arrest of a Venezuelan immigrant who shot two of their officers. The police were investigating a series of robberies in Queens when they proceeded to arrest the young man, 19, while he tried to flee on a motor scooter.

After seeing that the authorities caught up with him, the immigrant, who was later identified as Bernardo Castro Mata, pulled out a firearm and shot at the two officers. One of the bullets hit the leg of officer Christopher Abreu, 26 years old. His partner, Richard Yarusso, also 26, was shot in his bulletproof vest. For their part, the police fired back and hit the man, wounding his ankle, and subsequently arrested him.

Once arrested, Castro Mata was taken to New York - Presbyterian Queens Hospital, where he underwent surgery to treat his wound. In addition, authorities reported that the young man had arrived from Eagle Pass, Texas, after illegally crossing the border in July of last year and that he was living in one of the migrant shelters that the city installed in the former Courtyard Marriott hotel.

The shooting against New York officers ends without fatalities or serious injuries

Along with this, the New York Police assured The New York Post that, although he had no criminal record to date, he was one of the prime suspects in several violent robbery investigations in Queens, including an attack on a woman who also her credit cards stolen.

According to New York Police Commissioner Edward Caban, the altercation ended without fatalities or serious injuries. The two officers, he explained, have since been released from Elmhurst General Hospital and were both in "good spirits." Caban noted in a press conference, however, that "this could have gone a very different way."

This press conference was also attended by Mayor Eric Adams who, after showing the bullet hole in Yarusso's vest, praised both agents for their actions during the shooting: