New York (CNN) — A shootout Thursday between a police officer and a street peddler in busy Times Square — crowded with holiday shoppers and tourists — left the suspect dead but no one else harmed, New York police said.
New York Police Department Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said gunfire was exchanged after a police sergeant confronted two men who were selling CDs on the street. The sergeant, a member of a task force on street peddlers, believed he recognized one of the men as using “aggressive” sales tactics and coercing tourists to buy unwanted items, Browne said..
One of the men fled, pulled a Mac-10 pistol and fired two shots at the officer, Browne said. A bullet shattered glass in the window of the box office of the Marquis Theater near Times Square’s Marriott Marquis hotel, and the other bullet hit a nearby souvenir shop, Browne said.
See iReport on shooting
The officer returned fire and hit the suspect, a 25-year-old man who was later pronounced dead at a hospital, Browne said.
Browne said the suspect’s gun jammed, with 28 rounds remaining in the weapon. See WABC report on the shooting
Police found a business card for a gun dealer on the victim, Browne said. On the back of the card was a handwritten note saying, “I feel sorry for a cop who thinks I’m getting into his paddy wagon.”
The gun was reported stolen from the Richmond, Virginia, area in October, Browne said.
