Police said several officers were hurt after a stolen Kia was surrounded on East Fordham Road.
NEW YORK CITY, NY — An NYPD sergeant and a suspected stolen car driver were hospitalized Sunday after police said the driver rammed officers and unmarked police vehicles during a Father’s Day encounter on a busy Bronx street.
The incident brought a large police response to East Fordham Road, where officers had tracked a silver Kia Sportage reported stolen in New Jersey. Police said the driver was shot by an officer after striking members of the NYPD, including a sergeant who was thrown to the ground.
The episode began around 5:35 p.m. Sunday, when a license plate reader alerted police to a silver Kia Sportage with New Jersey plates that had been reported stolen the day before. The vehicle was first detected in Washington Heights, then later in the Bronx, according to police officials. NYPD officers assigned to a Community Response Team found the Kia traveling on East Fordham Road and followed it without immediately stopping it. NYPD Assistant Chief Aneudy Castillo, commanding officer of Patrol Borough Bronx North, said officers watched the vehicle stop and let out a passenger before it came to a stop near Webster and Decatur avenues.
Police said six unmarked NYPD vehicles moved in around the Kia after it stopped in front of a building on East Fordham Road. Officers got out and ordered the driver to leave the vehicle, officials said. Instead, the driver reversed and struck an unmarked police car and several officers, then drove forward and hit the sergeant. The impact knocked the sergeant to the pavement, police said. Another officer climbed onto an unmarked vehicle to avoid being hit as the driver continued moving the Kia. That officer fired at the driver while officers were still around the vehicle, police said. The driver was taken into custody after the shooting.
The injured sergeant and other officers were taken to hospitals with injuries that police described as not life-threatening. The suspected driver was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital in stable condition. Officials did not immediately release the names of the injured officers or the driver. Police also did not say Sunday night whether the passenger who got out of the Kia before the confrontation was being sought or questioned. The NYPD said the Kia had been reported stolen in New Jersey on Saturday, one day before officers found it moving through Manhattan and the Bronx.
East Fordham Road is one of the Bronx’s busiest commercial corridors, with heavy foot traffic, bus routes, stores and apartment buildings. The confrontation unfolded near Webster and Decatur avenues, a section where street traffic can back up quickly during police, fire or medical responses. The NYPD later warned people to avoid the area between Marion Avenue and Decatur Avenue and said there would be “delays and heavy traffic in the area.” Police kept part of the street closed while investigators marked the scene, reviewed the vehicle path and examined where the officer fired.
The driver was arrested and faced multiple felony charges, including felony assault and reckless endangerment, police said. Castillo also said the suspect faced a criminal possession of a firearm charge tied to an earlier shooting allegation in the neighborhood in February. It was not immediately clear whether the suspect had an attorney or when an arraignment would be held. The NYPD’s Force Investigation Division was expected to review the police shooting, a standard step after an officer fires a weapon. Investigators were also expected to review police radio traffic, license plate reader records, surveillance video and body camera footage from officers at the scene.
The case remained active late Sunday as police worked to separate the stolen vehicle investigation from the police shooting review. Officials said the license plate reader alert gave officers the first lead, and the later Bronx detection helped officers locate the Kia on East Fordham Road. Police did not say how fast the Kia was moving before it stopped or whether officers tried a traffic stop before surrounding it. They also did not release the number of shots fired or say where the driver was struck. The officer who fired was not identified.
The scene drew attention on Father’s Day as police vehicles, ambulances and investigators filled the corridor. Video from the area showed a large emergency response after the confrontation, with traffic slowed and people watching from sidewalks near storefronts. Police said the officers were trying to take the driver into custody when the Kia became a weapon in the crowded street. “The officers pleaded with the driver to get out of the car,” Castillo said as he described the moments before the driver reversed, hit police vehicles and struck officers.
The injured sergeant, other officers and the suspect were reported in stable condition after the incident. Police said the investigation remained ongoing Sunday night, with charging and review decisions expected to continue after evidence from East Fordham Road is collected.
Author note: Last updated June 22, 2026.