NYPD officer leaves hospital following Soundview shooting

More than 200 people, including family, friends and fellow officers, lined up to support Officer Daniel Vargas as he left NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi.

News 12 Staff

Jan 29, 2021, 12:45 AM

Updated 1,415 days ago

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An NYPD officer is back home just two days after getting shot while stopping a man in Soundview.
Family, friends and fellow officers were among the more than 200 people lined up to support Officer Daniel Vargas as he left NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi.
Police say Vargas was shot in the lower back Tuesday by an armed suspect with a long rap sheet. The shooting happened at the intersection of Lafayette Avenue and White Plains Road.
Officials say Vargas, who was on patrol as part of an NYPD unit assigned to taking guns off the street, spotted the suspect, identified as 24-year-old Ajani Jones.
Authorities say a chase began after Vargas and fellow officers tried to stop Jones.
Police say Vargas fired a shot during the pursuit and that Jones fired four rounds in return. One of the bullets struck Vargas in the lower back right below his bulletproof vest.
Jones, the man accused of pulling the trigger, has been charged with attempted murder, attempted assault, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of stolen property.
He is due to face a judge on Feb. 1.