Intense Manhunt Begins After 2 New York Police Officers Shot And Wounded

Monday, July 9th 2007, 8:06 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ Gunmen in a stolen sport utility vehicle shot and wounded two New York City police officers during a traffic stop early Monday, gravely injuring one of the officers, police said.

A manhunt was under way for the three occupants of the SUV. Police said the shots apparently were fired by two of them.

``The suspects in this brazen shooting are still at large,'' Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said at a news conference at the hospital where the officers were taken.

Officer Russell Timoshenko, 23, was shot in the face and neck, and was in ``extremely critical condition,'' said Kelly. Officer Herman Yan, 26, was in stable condition.

The officers were shot at about 2:30 a.m. in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn when they pulled over a black BMW SUV with license plates belonging to another car. A security video captured the shooting, and another video showed three men, believed to be the suspects, ducking into a driveway after seeing a patrol car approach.

Police found the SUV abandoned near the shooting scene. Inside it were two .45-caliber shell casings, Kelly said. The SUV had been stolen from a dealership.