BY THE VILLAGE SUN | An alleged local gang member shot and wounded two police officers on the Lower East Side Thursday afternoon as they tried to arrest him on suspicion of having just stuck up a nearby mahjong parlor.
Police said Joshua Dorsett, 22, robbed several women at gunpoint on the second floor of 91 Canal St. near Eldridge Street around 4:15 p.m.
According to police, Dorsett lives at 46 Madison St. in the Alfred E. Smith Houses and has three prior arrests. His last bust was in 2022 for criminal possession of a controlled substance.
“He is a known gang member and he is currently on probation,” said Joseph Kenny, the Police Department’s chief of detectives.
Kenny said the mahjong place is known to have gambling for cash and that, as a local, Dorsett would have known that.
The chief said that, during the robbery, the gunman pointed his weapon at several women and robbed them of their purses before fleeing.
The victims quickly alerted police that the thief had headed off on foot toward Delancey Street.
A few minutes later, two police sergeants — one from the 5th Precinct and one from the 7th — spotted a man near Delancey matching the suspect’s description. When they tried to handcuff him, though, he resisted.
As the three grappled while pressed up against a parked car, Dorsett allegedly began to pull a .45 Taurus semi-automatic out of his front pocket and a struggle ensued over the gun. The robber managed to blast a single gunshot, hitting one cop in the groin in his upper thigh, with the bullet traveling through and grazing the other cop in the leg. More officers responded to help arrest the suspect.
Both officers were treated at Bellevue Hospital, with their injuries not life threatening.
“The N.Y.P.D. moved quickly in response to this armed robbery and focused…their resources to swiftly apprehend the perpetrator,” Mayor Adams said. “I want to be clear,” he stressed, “our N.Y.P.D. officers did not fire on the suspect.”
Adams said the robber “actually visited his probation officer this morning,” with Kenny adding that Dorsett meets his probation officer monthly.
Adams emphasized that police continue to prioritize fighting gun violence, having removed 17,000 guns from the streets so far during his time in office.
Police Commissioner Edward Caban said the two injured officers “are lucky to be alive.”
Police released video of one of the wounded officers leaving Bellevue Hospital after being treated for his injury to applause from a phalanx of police. The other officer was being held overnight.
Earlier today in lower Manhattan, when one of your officers sustained a gunshot wound while responding to a job, he was brought to @BellevueHosp for treatment. Thanks to the prayers of his family, friends, and coworkers and the excellent care by our friends at the hospital, the… pic.twitter.com/8PmEaEKITD
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) August 2, 2024
Chief Kenny said the shooter is a member of the Up The Hill Gang, a Lower East Side crew.
A May 2022 feud between the Up The Hill Gang and their Alphabet City rivals, the Down The Hill Gang, ended with the tragic, grisly execution of two young friends, Nikki Huang and Jesse Parrilla, both 22 years old. Huang’s family runs Wa Lung Kitchen, a Chinese restaurant on Grand Street.
Is he back on the street yet? What’s taking so long?
Thank God for Mayor Adams and District Attorney Bragg.
Gotta keep that revolving door well oiled.