A retired NYPD officer fired his gun at a man who allegedly punched him during a heated dispute at a Bay Ridge parking garage early Thursday morning, according to police.
The incident took place at about 5:45 am at a garage on 101st Street, near Fourth Avenue.
The 57-year-old former officer and a 54-year-old man were reportedly engaged in a verbal battle until things got physical, when the 54-year-old hit the ex-cop and threatened “further bodily harm,” police said.
The ex-cop then brandished his firearm and fired a shot, which missed the other man, and did not hit anyone. Neither man has yet been identified.
Authorities took the officer to NYU Langone Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, while cops took the other man into custody for questioning.
NYPD spokesperson Sgt. Anwar Ishmael said that neither party was under arrest. He also said that the retired officer will in all likelihood be brought in for questioning as well.
“When something like this happens everyone is interviewed, you need to hear both sides of the story,” said Sgt. Ishmael. “It’s not like one was let go. I think both are being interviewed.”
State penal code says discharging a firearm is illegal “if not in self-defense or in the performance of an official duty.”
The NYPD’s investigation remains ongoing, and it’s unclear what sparked the altercation between the two, or even whether the gun was shot purposefully.
