NYPD: State Police & DEA Fire Shots On West Side Highway

A traffic stop on the West Side Highway Thursday afternoon ended with state police officers and Drug Enforcement Agents firing two rounds of bullets at a suspect, according to the NYPD. [Update: The suspect may have been making a delivery for a heroin mill; more information below.]

A police spokesperson said that the shooting happened at West 46th Street and 12th Avenue—near the Intrepid—just before noon. A suspect was taken into custody on unknown charges. It's not clear what prompted the shooting, or whether anyone was injured.

The NYPD said that traffic on the roadway is currently closed in both directions between West 42nd Street and West 56th Street.

Dylan Keefe, director of sound design at Radiolab and also the bassist for Marcy Playground, was biking in the area at the time of the incident. He tells WNYC that between 40 and 60 police officers were on the scene, and that detectives were investigating what appeared to be the aftermath of a car crash.

"They're looking at debris from a car accident, and it looks like they're looking for shell casings," he said. "Everything is pretty calm at the moment, but traffic is all jammed up."

The DEA confirmed that they were involved in the incident, but would not comment further. Calls to the state police were not immediately returned.

This is ongoing story and we'll update as more information becomes available.

Update: NBC New York reports, "Authorities have been looking into a large-scale heroin distribution network in the Bronx and pulled the suspect's vehicle over on the highway early in the afternoon, believing he was in the process of making deliveries."

The suspect, though, allegedly rammed his car into DEA and state police vehicles, prompting the authorities to fire at him. The suspect was caught in the Bronx. The heroin mill is also being raided, according to NBC New York.

Additional reporting by Jen Chung.