AP Photo/Mayor's Office, Kristen Artz
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, speaking at a news conference, holds a jar containing the bullet removed from Officer Kevin Brennan's head.
By NBCNewYork
A New York City police officer is expected to make a full recovery after being shot in the head while chasing a suspect in Brooklyn, authorities said.
Officer Kevin Brennan, 29, remains in critical but stable condition at Bellevue Hospital following an emergency surgery Tuesday night in which doctors removed a bullet from his skull.
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"It could have turned out an awful lot worse, and I think it's just another example of the men and women out in the streets every day and every night, trying to keep us safe," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a hospital news briefing Tuesday evening.
The suspect in the shooting, 21-year-old Louis "Baby" Ortiz, was apprehended on Bushwick Avenue at about 11:30 p.m. following a massive manhunt in the area.
The situation unfolded when officers were called to the Bushwick Houses public housing project? at about 9 p.m. for shots fired, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said at the briefing.
Three officers, including Brennan, saw three suspects running from the building, Kelly said. The officers ran after the individuals, with Brennan in the lead.
Brennan followed one of the suspects into the back of 370 Bushwick Ave., said Kelly. Inside the building, the man turned and fired a shot at the officer, striking him at the base of the his skull.
Brennan fired a shot in return, but it was not known whether the suspect was hit, Kelly said.
The suspect, Ortiz, was known to police, said Kelly. One of the officers chasing him had arrested him in the past. Ortiz was additionally wanted for questioning in a New Year's Day homicide.
Brennan was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where trauma surgeons performed emergency surgery on him in the emergency room. The NYPD's chief surgeon, Dr. Eli Kleinman, said the bullet entered the back of the officer's head and was stopped by a thick portion of bone in the skull.
The officer was in critical but stable condition Tuesday night.
"He is one lucky young man,"?said Kelly, observing that the doctors did a "phenomenal" job in removing the bullet from Brennan's head.
"He's cognizant of what's going on," added Bloomberg, who said Brennan recognized him and Kelly as they were at his bedside with his family. The officer was in and out of consciousness due to painkillers but was otherwise expected to make a recovery, the mayor said.
Brennan is a six-year NYPD veteran and a new father, according to Bloomberg. His wife, Janet, gave birth to their daughter six weeks ago.
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