Off-duty cop fatally shoots man in the Bronx, NYPD says
An off-duty cop fatally shot a gunman in The Bronx early Sunday — prompting the struck man’s dad to grab his son’s weapon and fire it at officers, a top NYPD official said.
Two NYPD officers had just gotten off duty and were walking on Valentine Avenue and East 180th Street in The Bronx, just a block away from the 46th Precinct station, when they encountered Michael Rosado, 24, firing at a victim, according to police.
After the officers confronted the suspect, he fired “several times” at the cops, prompting one of them to shoot the 24-year-old at 4:15 a.m., NYPD Chief of Patrol Juanita Holmes said during a press conference at the scene.
“The officers returned fire, which struck the 24-year-old male in the torso,” she said.
Michael Rosado’s father, Rafael Rosado, 44, then picked up his son’s gun and “fired rounds at the officers” with it, Holmes said. The cops weren’t hit, police said. The officers then returned fire but missed.
The father quickly passed the gun off to a woman nearby, according to police sources.
The elder Rosado was then seen on surveillance video walking around the block and weaving between cars before returning to the scene — in the hopes that cops would not recognize him — but the ruse didn’t work, and the father was taken into custody, the NYPD said.
He was charged with attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon, reckless endangerment and criminal. He has 61 prior arrests, according to police sources. His son had also been arrested seven times.
Video from the scene, 2080 Valentine Ave. in Fordham Heights, shows a maroon Honda Odyssey that appeared to be hit with gunfire, with three shell casings next to the vehicle.
Michael Rosado was taken by medics to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Holmes said. The pair of police officers were treated for tinnitus at Jacobi Medical Center, the NYPD said.
Police didn’t find the shooter’s gun but have video that shows the weapon being handed off, a police spokesman said.
One longtime Valentine Avenue resident, who declined to give his name, told The Post that the father and son grew up on the block, but moved to Pennsylvania.
The neighbor said he exchanged pleasantries with Michael Rosado hours before the shooting, which occurred outside a deli where the resident said men “play dominoes all night.”
“I’ve known him since he was born. His grandparents live next door,” the neighbor said of the 24-year-old.
“He’s a good kid. He’s always working. I never knew him to be a troublemaker. His dad is also a good man.”
Additional reporting by David Meyer
