Dramatic moment off-duty NYPD cop shoots a 28-year-old gunman who tried to steal the officer's car while he waited at a Brooklyn intersection

An off-duty New York Police Department officer shot a gunman who tried to rob his car in Brooklyn in the early morning hours of Wednesday, according to authorities.

Surveillance footage obtained by DailyMail.com shows a police officer who had just left work leaving the parking lot of the Brooklyn Terminal Market on East 87th Street in Canarsie at around 2:00am.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison said that a 28-year-old man approached the off-duty officer's civilian white Mercedes sedan and tapped on the driver's side window with his gun.

The New York Police Department released surveillance footage showing an armed carjacker on Wednesday (seen above in the red circle) moments before an attempted robbery at around 2:00am in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn

The carjacker approached an off-duty officer who was driving out of Brooklyn Terminal Market in his civilian white sedan (seen left)

According to police, the carjacker approached the driver's side window and tapped on it with a handgun. The officer then appeared to start driving away as the carjacker followed on foot

The carjacker kept approaching the vehicle as the officer moved toward the middle of the intersection

The carjacker is seen above on the left appearing to aim his weapon at the off-duty police officer who is behind the wheel of his car

It appears that the carjacker is aiming his handgun at the officer as he approaches the sedan from the rear

Moments later, the officer (top circle) gets out of his vehicle and fires several rounds at the carjacker, critically wounding him. The NYPD said that the carjacker has life-threatening injuries to his chest and arm

The video shows the officer pulling off to the side and then getting out of his car as the carjacker is seen aiming his weapon.

According to the NYPD, the carjacker opened fire in the direction of the officer, who was not struck.

The officer then returned fire, shooting the carjacker several times in the chest and the arm, the NYPD said.

The carjacker was taken to Brookdale University Hospital Center, where he was listed in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, according to Harrison.

Another surveillance video shows the incident from a different angle. The footage, which appears to have been shot from street-level, shows the off-duty officer start driving away before stopping in the middle of the intersection

As the carjacker approaches from the rear of the vehicle, the off-duty officer opens the driver side door of his car. The officer then gets out of the vehicle as the carjacker walks toward him. Moments later, the off-duty cop gets back into his car and closes the driver side door. The carjacker then opens the door before the officer could drive away

It then appears that the carjacker aims his weapon at the officer, who swiftly jumps out of the driver side seat and fires several shots at the gunman

The officer is seen above standing over the carjacker's body after he shot him

First responders arrive on the scene moments after the shooting on Wednesday morning

Another surveillance video shows the incident from a different angle.

The footage, which appears to have been shot from street-level, shows the off-duty officer start driving away before stopping in the middle of the intersection. 

As the carjacker approaches from the rear of the vehicle, the off-duty officer opens the driver side door of his car.

The officer then gets out of the vehicle as the carjacker walks toward him.

Moments later, the off-duty cop gets back into his car and closes the driver side door. 

The carjacker then opens the door before the officer could drive away.

It then appears that the carjacker aims his weapon at the officer, who swiftly jumps out of the driver side seat and fires several shots at the gunman.

The gunman is then knocked backward by the officer's shots. He is seen lying wounded in the middle of the intersection. 

The officer's white Mercedes sedan is seen above near the scene of the shooting in Canarsie on Wednesday as investigators sealed off the area in search of evidence

The NYPD says that the carjacker fired at the officer first before the officer returned fire

The NYPD placed numbered markers to indicate shell casings, bullet fragments, and other pieces of evidence at the scene of the shooting

The NYPD released a photo which shows what it says is one of two handguns that the carjacker had in his possession

Another photo shows the second handgun, which appears to have blood stains on it

Investigators said they recovered two guns and a knife at the scene.

The NYPD said that the suspect has been arrested seven times since 2011. His most recent arrest was in April 2019, when he was booked for vehicular manslaughter.

The off-duty officer was not injured. He was taken to Mount Sinai Beth Israel hospital where he was examined for tinnitus, according to officials.

The NYPD told the New York Post that it is not believed that the officer was followed or targeted.

Law enforcement officials have sealed off the area where the shooting took place as the investigation is active and ongoing.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, anti-police protests, and an economic depression that has led to an exodus of residents to the suburbs have fueled a citywide spike in violent crime this year.

Official NYPD data shows shootings were up 123 percent in October, in comparison to last year. 

This year, more than 1,600 people have been shot in New York City - more than double the number for the entirety of last year, which was 772. 

NYPD investigators are seen above gathering clues at the site of the shooting in Canarsie on Wednesday

The area was sealed off with crime scene tape as investigators continued to gather evidence

'This is not what we in the field would say is 'a spike in crime,' former NYPD Crime Analyst Christopher Herrmann, told Insider last week. 

'We're in uncharted waters'.

While NYPD statistic show that murder rates for the month of October were down 2 percent when compared to the same month last year, the overall homicide rate for 2020 is up 37 percent. 

Other instances of crime also remained stubbornly high in November. 

Assaults were up 2 percent, burglaries were up 32 percent and grand larceny auto crimes were up by a whopping 79 percent. 

On Thursday, a Bronx man was shot dead in broad daylight while sitting in his car.

Angel Barreiro was behind the wheel of his parked car just before 10am on Thursday when he was approached by another man who fired four times through the window. 

Barreiro was struck in the torso and died a short time later in hospital. The suspect still remains at large.     

This year, more than 1,600 people have been shot in New York City - more than double the number for the entirety of last year, which was 772