A New York City police officer, who was shot in the line of duty, has been released from the hospital.

Doctors released Robert Salerno, 25, Monday to cheers as he was being wheeled out of Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in Melrose. He was accompanied by a dozen of his fellow officers and family members.


Salerno was shot three times March 22, during a gun battle at the Morrisania Air Rights Houses on Park Avenue. His vest stopped one bullet; while the others hit his legs. Police say cops fired a total of 21 bullets, killing the suspect, Santiago Urena, 57. He was shot in the head, abdomen and shoulder.

Salermo and three other officers were called to the housing project on Park Avenue in Melrose when a fight erupted between a home aid and the son of an elderly woman she cares for. When police arrived on the scene, Urena, opened fire.

Officer Salerno is assigned to the 44th Precinct. He joined the New York Police Department in January 2007. He's the first officer shot in the line of duty this year.