A man remains on the loose after he opened fire on cops in Astoria and crashed his truck before fleeing on foot Thursday — in an incident that forced the shutdown of the Queensboro Bridge.
The man was driving a stolen pickup truck with Florida plates when he was stopped at Broadway and Crescent Street at around 8:50 p.m., law-enforcement sources said.
He fired one shot at the cops — but missed — before taking off and clipping at least one officer with the truck as he sped away, a source said.
The officers opened fire on the vehicle, according to police, and the driver made it only about a half- mile before crashing the black Ford F-150 at 37th Avenue and 24th Street and running away, a source said.
Patrons at a local bar were startled when the gunshots rang out.
“We sit down at the outside tables and then — boom!” said Paul Guidone, 27, who was at The Strand on Broadway. “Everyone jumped and ran inside.”
Police in Manhattan’s 19th Precinct closed down the bridge in both directions for about 30 minutes to make sure the shooter did not flee Queens, as officers canvassed the area around the shooting.
Police recovered the weapon in the abandoned pickup truck, according to a source.
The vehicle was stolen just two days ago in West Palm Beach, according to a law-enforcement source.
An officer at the scene said that the vehicle matched the description of a truck linked to an earlier robbery.
At around 4:30 p.m., a person matching the description of the suspect robbed a woman’s purse elsewhere in the city.
The man was still on the run this morning as helicopters were deployed.
A police source said that cops were looking for an older white gentleman, with a heavy build, who weighs about 225 pounds.
The suspect was described as being about 50 to 60 years old, and wearing glasses. He was said to have had short-cropped hair.
Two officers were taken to Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan with minor injuries. They were listed in stable condition.
Republished with permission of The New York Post
