5 Jersey City Cops Hurt in Gunbattle; 2 Suspects Killed

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (1010 WINS/AP)  -- A running shootout that erupted during a police stakeout of two armed robbery suspects ended Thursday morning with them dead and five officers wounded by gunfire, two of them critically.


Juliet Papa reports

VIDEO: Police: 5 Jersey City Officers Shot in Gunbattle

The shootout began in the street about 5:15 a.m. and ended when SWAT officers fought their way into a third-floor apartment where the man and woman had taken cover at about 6:45 a.m. The officers were met by shotgun blasts that ripped through the apartment building's walls and doors.

Residents of the complex said they awoke to the sounds of gunfire and police running down the halls.

Marlon Harrison, who lives on the second floor of the building, said he heard gunshots echo off the alleyway outside his window.

``It was like the Army out there,'' Harrison said.

Doctors at Jersey City Medical Center said Marc DiNardo, a 37-year-old Jersey City police officer, was in full cardiac arrest, with no signs of life, when he arrived for treatment. Doctors had to bring him back to life ``five or six times'' before they could stabilize him, Mayor Jerramiah Healy said.

DiNardo had arrested Hassan Shakur, the suspected shooter, in 2002 for illegal firearms possession. DiNardo was the first person to enter the apartment, police said.

He was shot on the left side of his face and will need reconstructive surgery to repair his jaw, sinuses and cheek, according to Dr. Bruno Molino, the medical center's trauma chief. He is in stable but critical condition.

The other Jersey City police officers were identified as Michael Camacho, 25, Frank Molina, 35, and Marc Lavelle, 43. Port Authority official Dennis Mitchell, 35, was also wounded.

Camacho was in critical condition after being shot in the neck, but Comey said he was awake after surgery and able to give his family a ``thumbs-up.''

Six other officers were treated and released for minor injuries.

Police said the suspects were believed to be Shakur, 32, and Amanda Anderson, 22. They had been wanted in connection with a June 18 armed robbery in Jersey City where a man was shot with the same shotgun, Comey said. Police said they were suspected of a similar robbery in South Carolina

Both were pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said the 2005 Ford Focus used in the June 18 robbery was stolen in South Carolina. They identified the vehicle from surveillance video and tracked it to the hardscrabble Greenville neighborhood in Jersey City where the victims were staying. Investigators learned the suspects moved the car every other morning to avoid getting a ticket, and officers staked the car out.

The gunfight began when the suspects came out to the vehicle 30 minutes earlier than normal Thursday morning, when only two officers were on the scene. Additional units were scheduled to arrive later in preparation for the planned confrontation.

Two officers, one in a marked police vehicle and another on foot, approached the duo.

Authorities said the woman did not have a firearm, but her partner pulled out his weapon -- a pump-action shotgun wrapped in what police called a monk's robe -- and began shooting. He blew out the police car's windshield and shot one of the officers in the leg, police said.

``This individual came fully ready to go to war with us,'' said Comey. ``This is a gun meant for nothing other than to hunt a man.''

Police said the gun used in the shooting was reported stolen in North Carolina two years ago. It's the kind typically used by law enforcement, police said.

President Barack Obama, in town for a fundraiser supporting Gov. Jon S. Corzine's re-election bid, mentioned the shooting and said he had been in contact with Healy. Corzine visited with the officers' families at the medical center Thursday night.

``It's a reminder what our law enforcement officials do each and every day to protect us and our families, and we need to keep them in mind as we go forward,'' Obama said.

Jersey City, a community of 242,000 across the Hudson River from lower Manhattan, has struggled to stamp out violence involving illegal firearms. The city tried to limit handgun purchases to one a month in 2006, but firearms groups have challenged the law in a case now before the New Jersey Supreme Court.

Last month, the state Legislature approved a bill that would impose a similar restriction statewide that is still waiting for the governor's signature.

Paramedics said the injured officers who could speak thanked them profusely as they were treating them and transporting them to the medical center. Paramedic Ashley Grillot said officers carried DiNardo out of the building by the arms and legs. The extent of his injuries made it difficult for them to establish an airway, she said.

"There was blood everywhere,'' Grillot said.

All photos sent by Juliet Papa