2 U.S. Marshals and NYPD detective shot; suspect killed

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Monday, July 28, 2014
Three law enforcement officers recover after being shot by wanted sex offender
Josh Einiger reports from Greenwich Village.

GREENWICH VILLAGE, N.Y. -- Gunfire rang out in Greenwich Village on Monday afternoon as three law enforcement officers suffered gunshot wounds attempting to serve a warrant on a suspect, who was killed in the shootout.

Two U.S. Marshals and one NYPD detective have non-life threatening injuries, officials said.

Police say one U.S. Marshal was shot in the backside, while the other was grazed in the right arm. Officials said the detective underwent surgery for at least one gunshot to the stomach. He is expected to survive.

The Detective is a 20-year veteran of the NYPD and is 45-years-old.

The suspect was shot between a half-dozen and a dozen times inside the Smoking Culture NYC store on West 4th Street, authorities said. Authorities had gotten a tip that the child molestation suspect was an employee inside the store.

The U.S. Marshals said the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force was working on a case in which the suspect, Charles Mozdir, was charged with child molestation in Coronado, California.

Since then, his appearance had changed dramatically. Sources say he'd gotten a job at the smoke shop using an alias and went by the first name "John".

MORE ABOUT THE SUSPECT:

"The three members who have been wounded were members of a U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, led by the U.S. Marshals office, part of a national effort that we have NYPD officers assigned," NYPD Police Commissioner William Bratton said.

The fugitive task force seeks absconders from other states, Bratton said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said the bulletproof vests saved the officers life. "The round was recovered inside the vest," Bratton said.

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A $1 million bench warrant was issued for Mozdir in June 2012 after he skipped an arraignment in San Diego Superior Court on child sexual assault charges.

His case had recently been featured on CNN's "The Hunt with John Walsh." Mozdir was accused of abusing a young boy while babysitting him. Authorities said they later found evidence of child pornography and bestiality on his cellphone and computers.

Mozdir was wanted on five counts of lewd acts upon a child younger than 14 and a charge of attempting to keep a witness from prosecuting a crime, according to the criminal complaint.

Authorities had searched for him in Coronado, Georgia, California and Mexico, according to the show.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)