NYPD Plainclothes Officers on Break Rush to Stop Wild Gunfight

An 18-year-old man was arrested in connection with a shooting that erupted in Harlem in view of NYPD officers who jumped from their vehicle to chase an armed suspect near a busy intersection.

By Colin Mixson and Rocco Parascandola

Source New York Daily News

April 28, 2026

3 min read

What to know

An 18-year-old man is accused of opening fire during a chaotic Harlem shooting that was witnessed and disrupted by nearby NYPD plainclothes officers.
Police say the suspect fired at a man who had moments earlier shot a 22-year-old outside a convenience store, prompting officers to chase and fire as the gunman fled.
Both the suspected shooter and his earlier victim were taken to the hospital in stable condition, with prosecutors now filing multiple attempted murder and weapons charges against both men.

The NYPD is investigating a shooting Friday in Harlem that was interrupted by plainclothes officers on a break.

The NYPD on Monday busted an 18-year-old man for his role in a wild Harlem shootout last week that was interrupted by a pair of police officers who happened to be nearby.

Yandel Ortiz was picked up by an NYPD warrant squad at his home in the Grant Houses ,a block away from the Friday episode. He is charged with attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon for the shooting.

His alleged target, 34-year-old Randy Negron, is himself accused of wounding a 22-year-old man in a hail of gunfire outside a convenience store moments before both Ortiz and two plainclothes police officers fired on him.

Negron was struck once in the stomach, but it remains unclear whether he was hit by the cops or the alleged shooter. Negron is currently at Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital, and was charged Monday with attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon, cops said.

“This incident demonstrates the dangers that members of the NYPD run toward every single day,” NYPD Assistant Chief Aaron Edwards said. “They saw a shooting in broad daylight as people were getting off a bus and going home after a long week, and they did not hesitate to jump out of their vehicle to pursue this shooter and prevent more people from getting hurt.”

The epsiode started when Negron opened fire outside the minimart on W. 125th St. near Amsterdam Ave. in West Harlem around 6:20 p.m., striking the 22-year-old victim multiple times at close range, NYPD Assistant Chief Aaron Edwards said.

Two plainclothes officers who were driving west in an unmarked vehicle witnessed the shooting and leaped from the car to chase Negron on foot.

But as the shooter rounded the corner heading north onto Amsterdam Ave., Ortiz entered the intersection from the southwest corner of W. 125th St. and Amsterdam Ave. and shot at the fleeing suspect, cops said.

One of the officers also fired on the suspect, who was struck once in the stomach.

Several bullets whizzed past one of the cops as he pursued the shooter and struck an urgent care clinic behind him, Edwards said.

Both Negron and the 22-year-old shooting victim were taken to Mt. Sinai in stable condition.

A police source said Negron was targeting two rivals when he opened fire outside the convenience store. His weapon was recovered at the scene.

Negron is a convicted felon with 11 previous arrests. He was released on parole in 2025 after an attempted murder conviction from a June 2015 incident, in which he fired into a group of people just a few blocks away from where Friday’s shooting occurred, Edwards said

The officers who were involved in the shooting were not wearing body cameras because they were on break at the time, Edwards said.

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