A Long Island cop was shot in the face early Thursday by a gunman who opened fire from inside a house as police approached him to serve a warrant in a homicide investigation, cops said.
The unidentified Suffolk County cop was hit in the face as officers former a perimeter around a North Bay Shore home as part of an investigation of a case where a blood-drenched corpse was found in bushes a day early, sources close to the investigation told The Post.
“This officer’s wound was half an inch away from his eye,” doctors from Stony Brook University Hospital told News 12 Long Island. “It was up on his cheek, it fractured his cheekbone and was lodged in his ear.
“If that was over half an inch, unfortunately he’s blind or not with us anymore.”
The 44-year-old shooter fired off a flurry of rounds from inside, striking the officer — although it’s unclear if it was a direct hit or a ricochet.
The bullet was later removed at the hospital and the officer is expected to recover, according to sources.
The shooter is now in custody. Neither he nor the person found dead in the bushes were identified by authorities. News 12 said the pair may have worked together as mechanics.
Bay Shore residents told The Post they came home Wednesday night to visible blood on the street, police activity, and some even described partially seeing the body tucked in a nearby brush.
Police revealed when they arrived, the wooded area where the body was found was doused in a “significant amount” of blood.
Police believe person found dead was killed at some point Wednesday, but they haven’t disclosed how he died.
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