Terrifying police video shows fatal shootout with Springfield Gardens domestic abuse suspect

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Police maintain a perimeter outside the crime scene Nov. 24, 2020, in Springfield Gardens. AP Photo/John Minchillo

Police maintain a perimeter outside the crime scene Nov. 24, 2020, in Springfield Gardens. AP Photo/John Minchillo

By David Brand

Terrifying body worn camera footage released by the NYPD Friday shows the moment a Springfield Gardens man entered his home and began firing at his wife and copslast November.

Rondell Goppy, a 41-year-old CUNY security guard, was killed in the Nov. 24, 2020 shootout, which began as soon as he opened the front door and began firing at officers. The two cops had accompanied the man’s wife to the home after she filed a domestic violence report.

“Oh he’s coming. That’s him. He’s here,” his wife is heard saying as Goppy approaches the entrance to the house.

The video captures him marching through the living room, firing shots with his gun extended.  Police said he fired 11 shots. 

Officers Christopher Wells and Joseph Murphy fired back 24 times, striking and killing Goppy.

Wells was shot once in the right thigh and Murphy was shot twice in each hand. They received treatment at Jamaica Hospital and were released two days later. Goppy’s wife was uninjured.

Less than two minutes, after the officers and the woman entered the home, Goppy stormed through the door and began shooting.

Shortly before the shootout, police questioned the woman about her husband’s guns. She said her husband kept the weapons in a safe upstairs but she did not have access to them or know if they were in the home.

The video from Wells’ body-worn camera shows the woman walk upstairs, past Christmas decorations of green garland and red stockings, before returning to the first floor. 

“He’s going to come back because he left everything here,” she told them. Moments later, he entered the home.

After the shooting, Mayor Bill de Blasio praised the officers for risking their lives to protect the woman.

"They saved that woman's life," de Blasio said after the shooting. "I want to be crystal clear. Because these officers were there, that woman is alive."