New York City police officer Feris Jones (pictured above) was off-duty and getting dolled up at a Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, salon Saturday night, when a robber made his way in and announced a hold-up. Little did the assailant know he'd be getting a tad more than the patron's loot.
The botched robbery attempt began at around 6:30 p.m., when a jittery woman was buzzed in to Sabine's Hallway Beauty Salon, a small shop with only three styling chairs. The strange acting woman inquired about prices for services and left leaving the front door slightly ajar.
Moments later, gunman Winston Cox (pictured below) burst through the door with a .44-caliber gun in hand, announcing a robbery and threatening to kill patrons.
The 19-year-old demanded that Jones, the salon owner and two other women throw their valuables in to a black bag. The perp then herded the women in to a bathroom in the back of the establishment. When Cox went to the front counter to rifle through the owner's handbag, Jones then pulled out her off-duty five-shot revolver, held it at her side and ordered the women to get down.
The divorced mother of one faced-off with Cox at a 12 foot range and identified herself as a police officer. The young man fired at Jones and she retaliated.
Cox fired off four shots and missed his intended target. Jones shot her five rounds and disarmed Cox by shooting the gun right out of his hand. Jones also managed to disable the front door by shooting off the handle, so that Cox could not go through it. Looking for another escape route, Cox grabbed his gun, kicked out a window, climbed out and hit the sidewalk crawling on his hands and knees.
Jones put in a call to 911 with a description of the suspect. Soon fellow officers combed the Brooklyn neighborhood with hounddogs searching for the assailant. A trail of blood led investigators to Cox's mother's house, which was near the salon. Police found the patron's valuables and a blood-spattered gun. Shortly after midnight, Cox was discovered hiding out at a seedy hotel. He actually answered the door with a blood-soaked paper towel wrapped around the injured hand that Jones had shot.
Jones, who had never shot a gun during her two-decade career as a law enforcement officer, is now being praised as not only a hero but an expert marksman:
"[Officer Jones'] demonstrated professionalism and remarkable calm in taking police action while off duty and foiling an armed robbery, and possibly worse. Her reserve under fire was only matched by her marksmanship," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Monday through a spokesman.
The Barbados native, who is highly respected on the force, was recently assigned to the crime lab.
Cox, who faces armed robbery charges, remains hospitalized with hand injuries.