Two Would-Be Robbers Threaten Off-Duty Cop and Workers… One Survives

BROOKLYN, NY — A man was shot and killed after he made the unfortunate mistake of attempting to rob a gas station at which an off-duty police officer was having his gas pumped, PIX 11 reports.

The slain man not only held the officer and an attendant at gunpoint, but when the officer identified himself to the robber and his accomplice, he failed to comply whatsoever. He turned around, gun in hand, and paid the ultimate price for it.

As PIX 11 reports:

It happened around 10:35 p.m. at a gas station at 914 Remsen Ave. Police said the off-duty officer was siting in his car getting gas pumped into his vehicle by the station attendant when two armed men approached. One of the armed men entered the station attendant’s booth and demanded money from a worker while the second man remained outside and told the off-duty officer and the gas station attendant not to move. A loaded .44-caliber revolver was recovered at the scene.

“As the two suspects exited the gas station, the off-duty officer identified himself as a police officer and gave them verbal commands to stop. The two suspects turned around towards the officer with the guns in their hands,” NYPD Chief of Patrol Rodney Harrison said.

The officer then fired and struck one of the men in the torso. The man, identified by police as 19-year-old William Simon, was taken to a hospital where he died. Simon has one prior arrest, a police source told PIX11.

The NYPD said the officer was not injured… The second suspect ran away, heading west on Avenue D.

Now, I think it’s critically important to mention, here, that the actions taken by the officer are not a blueprint for the responsible, armed citizen out-of-uniform.

This officer has an obligation to uphold the law and take down robbers like this. If it were a regular citizen, armed, and the robbers had exited the gas station and leaving the area — that’s a fleeing threat, and firing on them can often get you in serious trouble.

Be careful out there.

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