Missing Cop Radio Used to Transmit Fake Officer Down Calls

BUSHWICK — A person using a police radio sent cops rushing to the Bushwick Houses several times recently with a series of emergency 10-13 calls — the most urgent transmissions made when officers are hurt or under attack, cops said.

Each message sent cops scrambling to the housing complex near Bushwick Avenue and Moore Street, according to the NYPD. It's unclear how many calls have been made.

All transmissions were made from a radio that's known to be missing and responding officers found nobody hurt or needing help, police said.

Last year, NYPD officer Kevin Brennansurvived after being shot in the head in the Bushwick Houses.

Man struck, killed by NYPD cruiser in Queens accident

A man was struck and killed by an NYPD cruiser in an early-morning Queens crash, police said.

The accident happened at about 12:45 a.m., at the intersection of 10th Street and 40th Avenue.

The two officers inside the cruiser were responding to a 911 call and the man was trying to cross the street at the time of the accident, police said.

The vehicle remained at the scene hours after the crash, the windshield cracked as the victim’s body lay nearby.

There’s no word on the victim’s identity – or if the officers or man could have done anything to avoid the crash. The officers were not seriously injured, and police are continuing to investigate.

Man Killed After Being Struck by Car on Woodhaven Boulevard

WOODHAVEN — A 67-year-old man was killed Wednesday night after being struck by a car on Woodhaven Boulevard, police said.

Cops said the man had just stepped off an island on Woodhaven Boulevard and Jamaica Avenue when he was hit by a 2002 Honda Accord about 9 p.m.

He was rushed to Jamaica Hospital, where he died, the NYPD said.

The driver remained on scene, and no criminality was suspected, police said. 

Four-Alarm Fire Tears Through Brooklyn Bodega, FDNY Says

CYPRESS HILLS — A fourth-alarm fire ripped through a Ridgewood Avenue bodega early Thursday morning forcing fire crews to battle it for 3 hours before it bringing it under control, FDNY said.

The blaze started about 1:30 a.m. in the basement of a first-floor bodega at 349 Ridgewood Ave., near Chestnut Street, a fire spokesman said.

Firefighters battled the inferno for hours until 4:30 a.m when it was brought under control, but still not extinguished, the spokesman said.

The fire was elevated to a fourth alarm because it had gone on for so long and the first responders requested relief, the spokesman said.

No one was injured in the blaze.

A separate fire broke out on the third floor of the same building in March of last year. A mother and daughter were injured.

By DNAinfo

Facebook gangbanger turns himself in after threatening Brooklyn's cyber crime-fighting captain

A teen suspected of using Facebook to order a hit on a Brooklyn police commander turned himself in to cops Sunday night.

Jonathan Thompson, 19, made an online death threat against Deputy Inspector Joseph Gulotta following an exclusive Daily News report on the 73rd Precinct’s innovative crimefighting tactics, police sources said.

The precinct uses social media to track down guns and gangbangers in Brownsville, sources said.

Thompson’s menacing message, posted on the precinct’s Facebook page, even described Gulotta’s vehicle and his work schedule, sources said.

While cops feared the post might prompt a brazen criminal to try to murder Gulotta, it did not appear to generate much of an online stir, sources said.

Still, law enforcement officials didn’t leave anything to chance.

“A threat against a police officer is a threat against all of us,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes.

Thompson turned himself in at the 73rd Precinct about 6:50 p.m. and was charged with making a terroristic threat and aggravated harassment.

While the teenage tough has 13 prior arrests, including menacing and disorderly conduct, Thompson’s lawyer, Phillip Lights, insisted that he placed no hit against Gulotta.

“He never made any threats against the Police Department,” said Lights. “He is innocent.”

Urban Community Council head Tony Herbert, who accompanied Thompson to the precinct, said that police traced the threat back to his Internet connection.

It was not immediately clear if he is a member of OccFam, an offshoot of the Crips street gang highlighted in The News’ exclusive, which revealed how cops under Gulotta’s command are confiscating more guns than officers in any other city precinct.

Cops assigned to the 73rd Precinct spend hours each week scouring Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites looking for pictures of weapons, threats against rivals and hints about gang activity.

Police snatched 199 guns off the streets in Brownsville last year — up from 156 in 2011, records show. It was the highest number of guns recovered in any precinct last year.

They had already grabbed 25 guns this year, according to crime data through Feb. 4 — more than double the count from the first six weeks of last year.

3-Year-Old Girl Dies After Fall From Bathroom Window in Queens

QUEENS — The 3-year-old girl who fell from a fifth-floor bathroom window inWoodside Sunday has died, the NYPDsaid.

Rusroshi Barua fell from the window at 53-01 32nd Ave., where she lived, just after 2:30 p.m. She was taken to Elmhurst Hospital and was pronounced dead a few hours later, police said. 

Rusroshi and her sibling apparently locked themselves inside of a bathroom in their apartment, officials and witnesses said. After discovering the children were trapped, the children's parents frantically called the building's superintendent.

By the time they opened the door, however, Rusroshi had already fallen, authorities said.

The other child, whose identity has not been released, was in the bathroom and unharmed, police said.

Police believe the fall was accidental, but cops are still investigating.

8-Year-Old Boy Found Dead in Flatbush Fire

FLATBUSH — An 8-year-old boy died in a blaze in Flatbush early Saturday morning as a massive snowstorm whipped through the area.

Firefighters rushed to 2773 Bedford Ave., near Farragut Road, just before 3 a.m., where they encountered heavy fire on the first floor of the two-story building, theFDNY and witnesses reported.

"When I came outside I saw the place engulfed and someone was screaming inside — a lady was screaming," recounted Carl Barnes, 53, who said he's lived in the neighborhood since 1979.

"The fire trucks came. They pulled the lady out.... When she got outside she was kneeling on the ground, no shoes on, crying."

Sunita Armogan, 47, who lives across the street from the family's home, described a similarly harrowing scene.

"Everybody was screaming and confused," described Armogan, who said she took in four people from the house to keep them warm.

"I can't imagine a mother not knowing if her kids are safe. She was hysterical. She was telling the cops 'You bring me back to the house to find [my] kids.'"

When firefighters extinguished the blaze about a half hour later, the boy's body was found.

It was not clear if the boy died as a result of the fire, and the Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death, cops said.

A firefighter and another person suffered minor injuries and were taken to Long Island College Hospital.

"They're quiet people," said a longtime next-door neighbor, who gave only her first name, Natalie. "This is the quietest block. Nothing happens here. It's so surprising."

Police said the fire did not appear suspicious. The cause was under investigation, the FDNY said.

2 Teens Fall Through Icy Central Park Pond

Two teenage boys were rescued after falling through the ice on the Central Park Pond Tuesday afternoon, and two emergency rescuers who went into the water after them also had to be pulled out, officials said.

The boys, 16 and 17, were taking pictures on the snow-covered pond, authorities and witnesses said.

The teens and one firefighter who went into the water were all taken to the hospital with injuries that were described as not life-threatening.

An NYPD officer also went into the water but was not taken to the hospital.

The pond is located at the park's southern border near 59th Street and Sixth Avenue.

Elderly Woman Fatally Struck in Hit-and-Run Near Port Authority, NYPD Says

TIMES SQUARE & THEATER DISTRICT — A 69-year-old woman was struck and killed in an apparent hit-and-run near Ninth Avenue Tuesday morning, according to theNYPD.

The unidentified victim was crossing West 41st Street about 10 a.m. when a vehicle turning off Ninth Avenue slammed into her before speeding away, police said.

"I saw her on the ground," said Mohammad Hossai, 39, who works at a pizza place on the corner where the accident occurred. "She was on her right side. Her eyes were closed. She was bleeding from the left side of her face."

The woman was rushed to St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in cardiac arrest, an FDNY spokesman said.

The victim, whose identity wasn't immediately released, died at the hospital, police said.

It's unclear what type of vehicle struck her, but cops are investigating the incident.

By DNAinfo

Woman Killed, Another Hurt in Brooklyn Shooting

EAST FLATBUSH — A woman was killed and another hurt after being shot in the basement of an East Flatbush home Tuesday morning, police said.

The women — ages 63 and 37 — were shot inside 359 E. 25th St., near Clarendon Road, just before 10 a.m., fire officials said.

The older woman was struck in the chest while the other victim was grazed in the head, police said.

"She was talking, she was crying," said neighbor Roslyn Hunter, 64, of the 37-year-old victim. "It's horrible."

Both victims were rushed to Kings County Hospital, where the 63-year-old victim died. The other victim was stable, police said.

Detectives and emergency service unit cops swarmed the home to investigate the shooting, which sources said was preceded by an argument.

A man, 70, has been arrested, police said. A firearm was also seized.

"He looked normal to me, a nice old man," said Lloyd, a neighbor who asked that his last name not be used.

iPhone Thief Repeatedly Punches Girl, 17, in Face

Police are looking for a suspect who dragged a 17-year-old girl down a flight of stairs and punched her repeatedly in the face before running off with her iPhone in the Bronx last month.

Authorities say the suspect followed the teen into her apartment building on East 187th Street in the early afternoon Jan. 24, pushed her against the wall and dragged her down a flight of stairs.

When the struggling girl and her attacker reached the bottom of the stairs, the suspect began punching her repeatedly in the face and stole her iPhone before running off.

The victim's face was bruised and cut after the attack, but she was expected to be OK.

Police released surveillance video of the attack in progress (above).

The suspect is described as being in his early 20s, about 6 feet 2 inches tall and 160 pounds. He had black hair that he wore in braids and was wearing a burgundy coat with a fur-trimmed hood at the time of the attack.

Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800)-577-TIPS.