LES Armed Robbery Leads NYPD on East River Cannonball Run

Seven police officers had to be treated for injuries after a home invasion robbery led to cops on a chase throughout the Lower East Side that would land three of them in the East River (yet again) while trying to apprehend a fleeing suspect. Three gunmen held up a group of residents inside an elevator of the Smith Houses, a housing project in between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, not far from the East River. After forcing the group (one of whom was a pregnant woman) into one of their apartments, the thugs duct taped them together and robbed them of guns, cash and cell phones. When one of the victims broke free and got out of the building, the chase quickly became an affair of cops versus robbers. One of the suspects tried to get away by jumping in the East River, as one witness describes it, "All I saw was a dude in the water. He was all nervous, scared. He was just trying to get away from the police." At one point, two housing officers tried to become part of the nautical apprehension late in the game as another witness tells the News, "He jumped in and the guy was already surrendering." Four other offices were injured when two squad cars crashed during the mayhem.