5 NJ cops shot, 2 suspects killed in shootout

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - Five police officers were wounded yesterday - two of them critically - in a running gunfight that began during a stakeout of two armed-robbery suspects in Jersey City.

Both suspects were killed in the shootout, which began on the street about 5 a.m. and ended when SWAT officers fought their way into an apartment where the man and woman had taken cover. The officers were met by shotgun blasts that ripped through the building's walls and doors.

One of the suspects had "some kind of automatic shotgun," Mayor Jerramiah Healy said. Residents of the complex said they had awakened to the sounds of gunfire and police running down their halls.

Marlon Harrison said gunshots had echoed off the alley wall outside his second-floor apartment window.

"It was like the Army out there," he said.

Five officers were taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds. Three others were treated for minor injuries, such as flying glass.

The most seriously injured officer, Marc DiNardo, 37, was in full cardiac arrest, with no signs of life, when he arrived at Jersey City Medical Center, doctors there said. Doctors had to bring him back to life "five or six times" before they could stabilize him, they said.

DiNardo was hit by a shotgun blast to the left side of his face and will require reconstructive surgery to repair his jaw, sinus, and the area below an eye, said Bruno Molino, the chief of trauma at the hospital.

"These officers are extremely lucky to be alive," Molino said. "We're very fortunate to be discussing this at all."

The other Jersey City officers were identified as Michael Camacho, 25; Frank Molina, 35; and Marc Lavelle, 43. Port Authority official Dennis Mitchell, 35, was also wounded.

Camacho was in critical condition after being shot in the neck, but he was awake after surgery and gave his family a thumbs-up, Police Chief Tom Comey said.

The other three were treated for less serious injuries and released from Jersey City Medical Center, Healy said.

Police were still working to identify the bodies of the suspects, but said they had been investigating Hassan Shakur, 32, and Amanda Anderson, 22, in connection with a June 18 armed robbery in Jersey City in which a man was shot with the same shotgun, Comey said.

Authorities said that the woman did not have a firearm yesterday, but that her partner wielded his weapon with deadly intent, sending residents scrambling for cover in a violent neighborhood known for illegal drug sales.

"This individual came fully ready to go to war with us," Comey said. "This is a gun meant for nothing other than to hunt a man."

Police identified the vehicle used in the June robbery from surveillance video. Investigators learned the suspects moved it each morning to avoid getting a ticket and staked out the vehicle.

The gunfight began when the suspects approached their car. The man pulled out a pump-action shotgun and fired at a marked police car, blowing out its windshield. An officer was shot in a leg.

The subsequent injuries took place during the apartment assault.