Standoff in New York ends with gunfight and dead suspect
NYPD says man shot and wounded a firefighter after setting his own home ablaze
The man who shot and wounded a firefighter after setting his home ablaze in a standoff with New York authorities is dead, police said on Friday.
He died after barricading himself for six hours in his Staten Island home, which he torched to thwart authorities trying to arrest him at 5:45 a.m. for a federal parole violation, police said.
The firefighter, who has not yet been identified by officials, was shot twice and wounded by the man, who used an assault rifle, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said.
On Facebook, a man named Garland Tyree from Staten Island wrote "Today I die" on his profile early Friday morning. Friends responded with questions and concern. "They kicked in my door and it popped off," Tyree wrote.
Bratton said during the initial encounter at least four shots were fired at authorities attempting to serve the warrant on Garland, who he said has a long criminal history with at least 18 prior arrests.
Apartment filled with smoke
Authorities entered the apartment early Friday morning to find it filled with smoke, Bratton said.
"FDNY responded to the fire. The suspect fired a gun. One of the FDNY members was struck twice," said NYPD Sergeant Vincent Marchese.
The 54-year-old fire lieutenant was shot in the buttocks and left calf after crawling into the apartment beneath smoke to look for Tyree, New York Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said in a press conference on Friday.
"This instance was, until the lieutenant was shot, was not a known active shooter event," Nigro said.
In July 2013, Tyree was ordered to serve more time in prison for violating the terms of his supervised release by allegedly using cocaine and associating with known gang members, according to a court document that details his alleged involvement in the Bloods street gang.
Bratton said he was again released from prison in July 2014.
