NEW YORK (Reuters) - A police officer shooting at a fleeing suspect during an undercover gun buy that went wrong killed a 61-year-old bystander in the New York City suburb of Mount Vernon, police said on Saturday.

Two suspects were taken into custody during the investigation into the sale of illegal guns, the New York Police Department said in a statement. The undercover officer in the Bronx on Friday met a suspect who said he had guns for sale and directed the officer to drive to Mount Vernon. A second suspect got into the back seat of the officer's car, pointed a gun at his head and demanded money, the NYPD said.

After the officer gave him cash, the suspect attempted to flee and the officer tried to stop him. When the suspect pointed his gun, the officer fired several times at the suspect, striking him three times in the torso, police said.

A man standing behind the suspect was also hit in the torso. The bystander, identified as Felix Kumi, 61, of Mount Vernon, died early Saturday morning at Jacobi Hospital, police said.

One suspect, identified as Jeffrey Aristy, 28, of the Bronx, was arrested on gun and drug sale charges. The second suspect, identified only as a 37-year-old male, was also taken to Jacobi Hospital and also has charges pending.





(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Alison Williams)