Retired Corrections Officer Shoots and Kills Man at Borough Hall Station

By on March 10, 2015 8:09 pm in crime, News

An off duty corrections officer shot a man Tuesday night (3/10) after an altercation that spilled out from number 4/5 train onto the platform at Borough Hall station. (Note: The NY Daily News reports that the shooter is a “retired corrections officer”.)

WPIX TV reports:

A witness tells PIX11 that 2 young men were acting “belligerent” on a downtown train. An older gentleman got on the crowded train at Bowling Green, and attempted to get by the pair, when an argument broke out. The witness says the man was not engaging the men and said “don’t touch me,” when one of the men punched him in the face.

The man attempted to restrain the suspect and pulled out a gun from his pocket. One of the men ran from the train when the doors opened at Borough Hall. A scuffle ensued and the man shot one of the suspects on the platform.

The wounded suspect was hit in the abdomen, was taken to an area hospital.

Sources say 2 people are in custody.

Metro spoke to a witness named “Thomas”:

Thomas said he then saw one of the young men push the older man onto the floor as they approached Borough Hall station. “I saw [the older man] reach into his pocket and I saw the older man pull out the gun from his pocket and people were like ‘It’s a gun’ … I saw the older guy put the clip in the gun and he looked like he was getting in the position to shoot him so we all ran off the train. The two dudes ran up the stairs and the guy was all calm with the gun in his hand and walked up the stairs and everybody ran down the stairs. Not even 40 seconds later we heard a pop.”

Update: The shooting victim has died.

Update: The alleged attacker killed in the incident has been identified as Gilbert Drogheo. The alleged shooter has also been identified as Will Groomes.

Photo: Joe Frumusa/News 12 via Twitter

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  • Jorale-man

    Jeez. I saw a group of cops walking quickly up Court Street tonight and figured something was going on.

  • http://scallywagandvagabond.com/ scallywag

    A case of justified vigilante justice or a case of a man just getting even for being ‘racially’ defiled? Was his life in imminent danger? Did he go too far….? Or was this a case of ego at play?

    http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2015/03/vigilante-justice-retired-corrections-officer-fatally-shoots-subway-rider-after-altercation/

  • Quinn Raymond

    I don’t understand why the shooter wasn’t arrested as well. He chased after them and shot the assailant while they were fleeing, yes?

  • Avicular

    I think the NYPD is giving the suspected murderer a get-out-of-jail-free card because he is a former corrections officer even though one person is dead and he drew his pistol on a full subway car. If the suspect had not been one of their tribe he’d be in custody.

  • Tom Bergdall

    Sorry, Avicula, but if you think that members of the NYPD think that a retired correction officer is “one of their tribe,” you are sadly mistaken. Correction officers aren’t cops and are more often abused than respected by the NYPD. I know nothing about this incident, and suspect that you don’t either.

  • prisontutor

    in my experience as a volunteer tutor at a house of corrections, I would echo the sentiment that corrections officers are occasionally/often subject to a negative stereotype of being “wannabe” cops who “couldn’t clear the bar,” and that police officers look down their noses at corrections officers as inferior professionals.

  • http://www.cognation.net/ deancollins

    Agree….the shooter is going to jail (and rightly so).

    Get your affairs in order sir…..you broke the law.

  • petercow

    Quinn – if you watch the video, the guy who gets shot, is apparently at the top of the stairs, waiting for the guy who he had previously assaulted. He does not appear to have being chased.

  • Avicula

    I agree that within NYC law enforcement, cops look down on corrections, but it is still unreal that after watching the video of a retired corrections officer continuing a physical fight with a young hooligan one can dismiss the armed person blameless. He was an armed and experienced professional and yet he still killed a person (yes, a big fat jerk of a person). The video tells me that a cranky old person was looking for a fight with a jerk and found an excuse to shoot him. And the fact that NYC arrested his buddy but not the retired law enforcement official tells me yet again, that that laws don’t apply when it comes to “law enforcement” personnel. Sorry Mr Bergdall that you don’t give a crap about fairness or laws or justice for ALL.

  • Willow Street Watch

    First of all, the video is not that clear or close to
    be an absolute record to the totality of the incident.
    From long experience I know that NYPD is not
    going to auto release anyone unless they AND the
    ADA involved dont have a very good reason for
    their actions.

    But the larger reality is that there have been a clear
    upswing in disorderly types and harassment of riders
    in the boro hall/court street station complex and
    especially on the 4 & 5 Manhattan bound platform
    over the last year.

    This has ranged from aggressive panhandling to
    Harassment of women to really frightening incidents..

    The REAL bottom line is there just isn’t anything
    like a safe level of visable police presence at the
    present time in that station…And that’s been the
    Case for the last few years….