NYPD cop shot, robbery suspect killed after shootout outside NYC shopping mall as hundreds run for safety

An NYPD officer and an innocent bystander were shot and wounded while a career criminal on lifetime parole was killed in a shootout after the suspect allegedly robbed a pair of stores in Queens Tuesday night, police said.

The 57-year-old parolee, Gary Worthy, allegedly held up two local businesses, a bodega and then a smoke shop, at gunpoint and fired off a single shot during each of the robberies where he demanded cash before the deadly gunfight.

Officers were canvassing for the suspect in the first robbery, which happened just after 5:30 p.m., when a witness pointed them to Worthy who had just allegedly robbed the smoke shop on Guy Brewer Boulevard in Jamaica less than an hour later, NYPD officials said.

The cops realized he matched the description of the suspect in the earlier robbery as well and ordered him to stop near the corner of Jamaica Avenue and 160th Street at around 6:30 p.m.

Worthy — who has 17 priors including murder — instead ran off and reportedly drew his illegal firearm, shooting Officer Rich Wong, a seven-year veteran of the 103rd Precinct, once in the thigh, police said.

Wong returned fire and shot Worthy once in the face. He was pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital, cops said.

Officer Wong was also rushed to Jamaica Hospital as well as a 26-year-old woman who was shot in the crossfire. Both are expected to make full recoveries.

The gunfire sent hundreds of terrified New Yorkers running for safety.

A mom who was picking up pizza nearby said she heard “a loud bang” and initially believed the noise came from a construction site or a car backfiring — until three more shots followed and the busy block quickly erupted into chaos.

“It was followed by three more loud bangs and I said ‘Oh, those are gunshots and I need to run,’” Jennifer Wilson said.

“So I looked around for a second — everyone scattered. We all ran to where we could run to and then the police swooped down and starting blocking [the street] off.”

She was left shaken by the gunfire and couldn’t immediately return home since her car was on the other side of the taped-off crime scene.

“I had an appointment up here, I’m on my way home to my children with dinner, with pizza and it’s just really scary. It’s very, very scary, very unsettling, very disturbing.”

Wilson said hundreds of people ran for their lives after the gunshots rang out.

“Jamaica Avenue is busy. This is the busiest street in all of Queens and everybody’s just walking, going about their business, probably on their way home like me and [we] all just scattered like roaches,” she said. “It was madness. It was really crazy.”

Dozens of cops swarmed the scene of the shooting and the suspect’s body was left in “a pile on the ground,” Wilson added.

Another New Yorker who had just left a nearby hospital saw the shooting unfold in front of his eyes — ending with Worthy’s body lying on the ground, face-up.

“Oh my god, I got scared, man,” Harry Jaikarran, 58, told The Post. “For 45 years, I’ve lived in America, I never heard a gunshot like this. I got afraid. I never seen a shooting… It’s sad. Shoplifting cost him his life.”

Worthy was on lifetime parole for firearms possession and was arrested just six days ago, but was released back onto the streets, police said. He was also a suspect in three recent gunpoint robberies, and a warrant for his arrest was issued last Thursday.

He was charged with murder in 1994 and served time after pleading guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter. Additional details about the killing weren’t immediately available.

Worthy was again arrested in 2008 for criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a controlled substance and burglary. He was convicted of all three charges and spent 12 years at Otisville Correctional Facility before he was released in 2021 on lifetime parole, according to state records.

The career criminal has been arrested seven times since his release but remained out on the streets despite his lifetime parole.

He was wanted in three additional gunpoint robberies at Queens businesses that occurred between Halloween and Nov. 15, police said. Worthy allegedly fired a single shot at each of those robberies as well.

Mayor Eric Adams slammed the criminal justice system for his release following his latest bust for felony narcotics possession and resisting arrest.

“We’re angry because we have witnessed in two days a criminal justice system that is failing New Yorkers, the good people of this city,” Adams said during a nighttime press conference at Jamaica Hospital.

His criticism of the court system was echoed by top NYPD brass and Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry.

“I can tell you this — all New Yorkers, you can depend on New York City police officers to do our jobs. We will continue to take dangerous criminals off the streets. We have your back,” Hendry said. “I can tell you who doesn’t have your back — our criminal justice system. It continues to let us down every single day.”