(VitalNews.org) – Highlighting the grave consequences of the Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies, a violent repeat offender with 17 previous arrests shot an NYPD officer and an innocent bystander in Queens.
The harrowing events took place when Gary Worthy went on a violent crime spree across Queens.
Worthy is a 57-year-old career criminal on lifetime parole. Even though he had been arrested just six days earlier for drug possession and resisting arrest, he was already wanted for three other gunpoint robberies where shots were fired.
The rampage began when Worthy robbed a bodega in Jamaica at gunpoint, firing a shot inside the store.
He continued his spree by targeting a smoke shop an hour later. A witness then identified him and alerted the police to his location near Jamaica Avenue.
As officers responded to the scene, Worthy showed his true colors as a hardened criminal with no regard for human life or law enforcement.
He opened fire on the approaching officers, striking seven-year NYPD veteran Officer Rich Wong in the thigh.
Despite being wounded, Officer Wong bravely returned fire, hitting Worthy in the face and effectively killing him on the spot.
#HAPPENINGNOW: We’re providing updates on an officer shot in Queens. Early info indicates the officer was responding to a gunpoint robbery when a suspect—armed with a black revolver and with a history of 17 crimes, including murder—fired at police. Officers returned fire,… pic.twitter.com/Go2gcrOzlM
— NYPD Deputy Commissioner, Operations Kaz Daughtry (@NYPDDaughtry) November 20, 2024
Mayor Eric Adams discussed the incident, “We have witnessed in two days a criminal justice system that is failing New Yorkers and the good people of this city.”
“We are angry that a violent, repeated offender, who has prior gun arrests, who pled guilty to manslaughter and who was arrested for seven crimes since 2001 alone was free to commit two robberies tonight,” he added.
In the chaos of the shootout, an unsuspecting 26-year-old woman also became a victim when Worthy shot her in the leg. Both Officer Wong and the bystander are expected to make full recoveries.
Described by Mayor Eric Adams as a “reckless perpetrator,” Worthy was pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital.
His extensive criminal record included previous convictions for murder, robbery and narcotics possession.
The fact that Worthy was on “lifetime parole” but was still able to get a gun and commit violent crimes is a damning indictment of New York City’s justice system.
Copyright 2024, VitalNews.org
