Plainclothes NYPD Officers Kill Bed-Stuy Teen After Alleged Shoot-Out

EAST NEW YORK, BROOKLYN — Kadeem Torres, a 17-year-old from Bed-Stuy, was shot and killed by police Thursday afternoon after allegedly firing at NYPD officers in East New York. Torres, who lived on Willoughby Avenue, was fatally shot in an alleyway between two homes on Belmont Avenue after a shoot-out with three police officers in plainclothes, cops said.

The fatal shooting occurred in East New York at 890 Belmont Ave. at around 3:50 p.m., according to police. A three-person anti-crime unit with one sergeant and two police officers from the 75th precinct were patrolling Fountain and Blake avenues in East New York based on information they had received of a "potential retaliatory gang shooting" in the Cypress Houses, a public housing project in the area, NYPD chief of patrol Terence Monahan said in Thursday's press conference.

The officers saw Torres running from the Cypress Houses and began to follow him in their police car, Monahan said. After around two blocks of following him, on Logan Street, the officers approached Torres. When the sergeant and one of the officers got out of their car, Torres drew a revolver and fired it at them, according to Monahan.

The officers shot back, and Torres escaped on-foot for two blocks, entering a backyard at 840 Belmont Ave, Monahan said. One officer followed Torres into an alley and confronted him while he was still armed, Monahan said. The officer then fired a fatal shot at Torres, Monahan said. The teen was pronounced dead at the scene.

Torres' Facebook profile said he attended Boys and Girls High School, a public school in Bed-Stuy. Dozens of the boy's friends posted about their loss on Facebook after finding out about his death.

"I would of never thought it would of been you... such a kind hearted person," one friend wrote.

"You were chipper bubbly n fun to endorse and be around i will never forget our convos ya voice ya laugh ya personality n ya favorite ham sandwhiches of course will miss you deeply the hardest L TO TAKE THIS YEAR SO THIS YEAR WILL BE GRIND TIME JUST FOR YOU I LOVE YOU MAN IN ALWAYS WILL FOREVER MY FAV LIL BRO," another friend wrote.

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Investigators don't yet know whether Torres had any connection to the gang shooting that spurred the shoot-out in the first place, police chief Terence A. Monahan said.

A witness heard around 10 or 11 shots during this second shoot-out, he told the New York Times.

Investigators recovered a silver .32-caliber revolver from the scene, cops said.

This is a developing story, refresh the page for updates.

Photos of Torres via Facebook