Off-Duty NYPD Officer Mistakenly Shot By VERENA DOBNIK, Associated
Press Writer
Sat Jan 28, 8:01 PM ET



In a tragic case of mistaken identity, police shot and critically
wounded an off-duty officer as he pointed a gun at a suspect outside
a fast food restaurant early Saturday, authorities said.

Eric Hernandez, 24, was hit three times and was hospitalized in
extremely critical condition, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

The officer who pulled the trigger, identified only as a 20-year
veteran of the force, was being treated for trauma at another
hospital.

Hernandez had been in line at a White Castle restaurant in the Bronx
shortly before 5 a.m. when he was assaulted by a half-dozen men,
Bloomberg said. It wasn't immediately clear what sparked the fight,
but it was captured on the restaurant's security camera.

A woman called 911 from White Castle, and Hernandez — with his gun
drawn — ran into the parking lot after his assailants, Bloomberg said.

He apparently subdued one of the suspects, and when a patrol car
arrived, was pointing his gun at a man on the ground.

One of the two officers in the car, apparently believing Hernandez
was about to shoot, opened fire, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.

Hernandez, who joined the force in 2004, never fired his weapon,
authorities said. He was shot in each leg and the abdomen and lost a
lot of blood, Bloomberg said.

Kelly said police were questioning eight individuals about the
shooting, including people who fought with Hernandez inside the White
Castle.

It was believed to be the NYPD's first friendly fire shooting since
Desmond Robinson, who wasn't in uniform, was shot in the back by an
off-duty officer in 1994. Robinson had his gun drawn on a subway
platform, and the officer mistook him for a criminal.