BROOKLYN, NEW YORK â A routine Thursday afternoon inside a Brooklyn subway station was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a gunshot â but investigators say the officer’s weapon had apparently never been drawn.
An on-duty NYPD officer’s service weapon accidentally discharged while it was still inside the officer’s holster at the Kingston-Throop Avenues subway station in Bedford-Stuyvesant, according to police and local reports.
The discharge left another NYPD officer and a 34-year-old woman injured by fragments, while investigators are now examining exactly how a weapon that was reportedly still holstered managed to fire.
The incident happened at approximately 4:40 p.m. Thursday at the Kingston-Throop Avenues station, which serves the A and C subway lines.
What happened inside Kingston-Throop station?
According to News 12 Brooklyn, police said the service weapon was still inside the female officer’s holster when it discharged.
That detail has become one of the most significant aspects of the investigation. Police have not described the incident as an intentional shooting or a confrontation in which an officer drew and fired a weapon.
Instead, investigators are trying to establish what caused the firearm to discharge while it was apparently secured in the holster.
Fragments from the discharge struck a male NYPD officer who was nearby as well as a 34-year-old woman inside the station. The woman suffered an injury to her ear, according to reports.
The injured officer and civilian received hospital treatment, while the female officer whose weapon discharged was also evaluated. The injuries were described as minor, and those involved were reported in stable condition.
No arrests have been reported in connection with the incident.
The subway incident comes as New York emergency services have responded to several serious incidents in recent days. In Staten Island, a worker was killed following an explosion aboard a barge, prompting a major emergency response and investigation.
Initial reports changed as investigators examined what happened
One of the important details in the Kingston-Throop incident emerged only after the initial response.
Early information suggested nobody had been struck by the accidental discharge. Police later determined that fragments had injured both the male officer and the woman.
The New York Post reported that the officer’s weapon accidentally fired inside the station and that fragments struck another officer and a bystander.
The sudden noise also caused confusion among people inside the station. Public posts from people identifying themselves as commuters described passengers reacting to what sounded like a gunshot before it became clear what had happened.
Those accounts do not establish the cause of the discharge, but they illustrate how quickly an apparently accidental incident could create uncertainty inside an active subway station.
Both officers involved have reportedly been placed on modified duty while the incident is reviewed.
The investigation is being handled by the NYPD’s Force Investigation Division, which reviews incidents involving police firearms and the use of force.
The case also comes amid heightened attention on policing and public safety around major events in Brooklyn. Thousands of people recently gathered for the borough’s West Indian Day Parade, where extensive security and policing measures were put in place along the route.
For investigators at Kingston-Throop, however, the central question is much narrower: what caused an NYPD service weapon to fire while it was apparently still inside the officer’s holster?
Police have not publicly announced a definitive mechanical or procedural cause for the discharge. Authorities have also not released findings indicating whether the firearm itself, its holster, handling or another factor was responsible.
The officers involved have not been publicly identified.
This is a developing incident report and will be updated if the NYPD releases additional findings about the weapon, holster or circumstances surrounding the accidental discharge.
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