Home invasion save earns 62nd Precinct officers Cop of the Month honors

Heroism displayed during a dangerous situation involving eight hostages, including an infant child, and a gunman in early July, earned two 62nd Precinct police officers Cop of the Month honors at a recent 62nd Precinct Community Council meeting, according to 62nd Precinct’s Commanding Officer, Captain Anthony Sanseverino.

Sergeant Daniel McKeefrey and Officer Elias Khan responded to a 911 call on Monday, July 11 at about 6:30 p.m., according to Sanseverino. The call, while initially considered a burglary complaint, turned out to be a home invasion in which two men forcibly entered a Gravesend home with eight people still inside. At least one of the intruders flashed a gun at the group of eight, according to Sanseverino, and shuffled everyone into one room.

“One of the victims hid with the infant child in a rear bedroom and [texted] a friend of hers who called 911,” the captain said.

Once McKeefrey and Khan arrived at the 78th Street home, one of the men attempted to escape by pushing an air conditioner out of a window and fleeing via the fire escape. The officers then encountered the escapee at Stillwell Avenue where he proceeded to point a firearm directly at them. According to Sanseverino, the suspect was killed shortly after pointing his gun at the officers.

“I want to be clear this is not about ending someone’s life,” Sanseverino said. “My officers went through a lot of stress and a lot of remorse for that but what it is about is that eight people were saved in probably one of the most violent crimes we had over the whole summer. So, I really just want to tell them from the bottom of my heart what a great job they did.”

Because the investigation is still ongoing and one person has yet to be apprehended, no more details could be provided with respect to the incident. However, Sanseverino made sure to thank the community for their support.

“With everything going on in the nation, very anti-police sentiments and the social media negativity towards the Police Department, I always commend my guys for what they do every day,” he said.  “I know everyone here does. We have such a supportive community and  it shows by the day-in, day-out relationships that we maintain.”

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