Police officer shot in Queens - New York News | NYC Breaking News

Search for suspect in NYPD officer shooting

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MYFOXNY.COM -

The New York City police sergeant who was shot in both legs on a Queens street is expected to recover.

Now the NYPD has named the suspect they are seeking. His name is John Thomas, 24, and is described as 5 feet 11 inches tall and 180 pounds with long hair.

Craig Bier, a 15-year veteran of the NYPD, is in stable condition at Jamaica Hospital and should be discharged in a few days. He was shot around 10:40 p.m. Wednesday on Union Hall Street in the Jamaica section of the borough.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly visited Bier at the hospital where Bloomberg said, "Another night, and another shooting of one of our finest."

Bier is the tenth NYPD cop to be wounded in the line of duty this year.

Bloomberg said Bier and his partner, Detective Nick Romano, were in South Jamaica when they attempted to stop someone on a bicycle who fled. When they chased him, the suspect opened fire.

"He got off the bike and ran down a narrow alley between a house there and a tall, chain-link fence which enclosed a parking lot. It's believed the suspect climbed the fence, and jumped onto the roof of a white van that was parked in a lot in an attempt to escape onto 107 Avenue," said Kelly.

Bier and the suspect exchanged gunfire. The suspect fired four times, Bier shot six times, added Kelly.

A Ruger 9-mm pistol was recovered in the rear of 167-11 107 Avenue, not far from where Sergeant Bier was shot.

Bier's father Richard Bier is a retired NYPD detective.

He was also shot in the line of duty, according to the New York Post.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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