Hero police officer getting her hair done shoots would-be salon robber after he opens fire

An off-duty police officer getting her hair done has become a hero after shooting a would-be robber who opened fire inside the salon.

Officer Feris Jones, 50, was in Sabine's Hallway in Brooklyn, New York, last night at around 6.30pm when the thug burst in and demanded cash.

Jones immediately ordered him to drop his weapon, identifying herself as a police officer.

The man opened fire - but, undaunted, a steely Jones shot back twice.

She hit him at least once, sources told New York papers. The man fled - but left behind a trail of blood for police to follow.

Now police have identified a suspect, 19-year-old Winston Cox.

They said he had been shot in either his right arm or thigh and may have bandages on his hands.

'He messed with the wrong one tonight,' witness Annie Lawson told the New York Post. 

'Thank God she was there,' said salon owner Sabine Bellevue. 'He was fully loaded.

'It all happened in a blur. We were on the ground, and the shop is not large at all. My ears are still ringing.'

She continued: "She [Jones] told us to get down. She informed [the thug] who she was and that's when he started shooting.

'I didn't see him get hit, but I know he was - he was just screaming and cursing.'

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly today praised Jones' 'professionalism and remarkable calm'.

Style police: Off-duty officer Feris Jones, 50, in the back of an ambulance after staving off an armed robbery at Sabine's Hallway Beauty Salon

 

Courageous: Witnesses told police that Jones exchanged fire with the would-be robber, who may have been hit in the arm in the shootout

The blood trail led to a nearby housing project, but there it seems to have gone cold. No arrests were made last night.

Police are also hunting for a woman who witnesses said had held the door of the salon open to inquire about prices as the man entered.

The door is usually locked and has to be opened from the inside.

Jones, said to be uninjured, was examined and released from a local hospital. 'Her hair looked fine to me,' one police source was quoted as saying. 

The officer - who works in an NYPD crime lab in Queens - already had a reputation for bravery even before her heroics last night.

Neighbours told the New York Daily News how, years ago, she held down and arrested a crazed man who was trying to set fire to their building.

'She's always been brave. I feel good living across from her,' one said.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1323324/Hero-police-officer-getting-hair-shoots-salon-robber-NY.html#ixzz13JribTSn