Police Officer Shot In Coram During Surveillance Operation

CORAM, NY - A Suffolk County police officer was rushed to the hospital in the back of a police car after being shot during a surveillance operation on Homestead Drive near Norfleet Lane late Thursday afternoon.

A massive police response converged on Homestead Drive in Coram, New York at around 12:45PM on Thursday afternoon after a police officer was shot while a surveillance operation for a robbery suspect was being conducted on Norfleet Lane.

Officials say that officers found 20-year-old Janell Funderburke, an alleged robbery suspect, while he was exiting a house. Police say that when he noticed the presence of officers outside, Funderburke fled onto Homestead Drive with officers pursuing him on foot.

“The officer, who was in plain clothes, identified himself and ordered the suspect to stop. The suspect did not comply, and at some point that man ultimately fired two rounds at our officer,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Harrison said.

Police say the injured plain clothes officer was shot in his upper-right thigh in front of 86 Homestead Drive in Coram. Other officers that were present immediately jumped into action and applied tourniquets to the injured officer, saving his life according to doctors.

Funderburke then fled to his house at 98 Homestead Drive where he initiated a stand-off with police. Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies, including New York State Police, New York Environmental Conservation Police, and multiple Suffolk County Police precincts responded to the scene of the stand-off.

The suspect was involved in a stand-off with officers for 20-minutes before he was taken into custody.

Funderburke will be charged with attempted murder of a police officer and for a robbery that he allegedly committed in Coram on Tuesday.

Officials released a background on Funderburke, which includes details reporting that he is a Bloods gang member who has had previous run-ins with police. He was previously arrested for criminal possession of a weapon in August 2022.

The police officer was transported to a local area hospital and is now in a stable condition and expected to survive.