By JOHN HOLUSHA and AL BAKER
from The New York Times

Two New York police officers were shot and wounded, one very seriously, in the early hours today while they were making a traffic stop in Brooklyn, police officials said.

The police investigated the scene in Crown Heights where two officers were shot and wounded early Monday morning.

Officer Russell Timoshenko, 23, was reported to be in grave condition with two wounds to the face and with bullets lodged in the back of his skull. His partner, Officer Herman Yan, 26, also was wounded, but a shot to his chest was stopped by his bullet-resistant vest.

“One will recover, and one is clinging to life,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a morning news briefing about the incident.

Police were seeking at least two suspected shooters, but no arrests have yet been made. However, police officials said three guns have been recovered, and that they have video images of the shooting and its aftermath.

“There is a lot 0f video out there,” a police official said.

Some of the video images show people leaving the BMW and walking down a driveway or alley. The three guns were found dumped there. The police described the weapons as a 9-millimeter pistol, a 45-caliber pistol and a Tech 9.

According to police sources, the two officers were on uniformed duty in a marked car in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn at about 2:30 a.m. when they spotted a BMW sport-utility vehicle. When they checked its license plate number and found that that plate was registered to a different vehicle, they pulled the BMW over, suspecting that it had been stolen.

As they approached the vehicle, from opposite sides, shots erupted from the passenger’s side, striking Officer Timoshenko. Officer Yan ran to his assistance and returned fire. He was hit in the left forearm and chest before the BMW sped away.

read more at THE NEW YORK TIMES