A suspected drug trafficker who's been hiding out from police for nearly two decades was wounded during a shootout with deputy U.S. marshals in New York City.

A team of marshals and NYPD officers tracked down 44-year-old Oswald Lewis to a Queens apartment in Springfield Gardens and tried to arrest him around 11 p.m. Tuesday. However, authorities say that Lewis, who was armed with two handguns and a bulletproof vest, fired several rounds at the officers when they entered the apartment, reports the Associated Press.

The officials responded by opening fire and shot Lewis in the arm before he surrendered. He was then taken to Jamaica Hospital.

None of the authorities were hurt during the incident.

"I hear the suspect himself screaming, 'they're going to kill me, they're trying to kill me,'" said resident Stacey Barnett, according to CBS New York. "Before I know it, it was over."

Another resident described the incident, saying "It was like a firecracker," said Bertram Thomas. "Pop, pop, pop, pop!"

"I immediately got on the floor," said resident Tonia Curtis. "I didn't know what else to do."

"To me it was like this guy was ready to kill anybody, you know what I mean, because what type of man walks around with a bulletproof vest and is not a cop," another man told 1010 WINS. "I'm glad they came and got this guy," he added.

According to authorities, the fugitive was wanted on federal and state cocaine trafficking charges in Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina dating back to 1991. However, he used fake ID to evade police.

"After over 20 years on the run as a fugitive, the U.S. Marshals in Brooklyn tracked down Lewis in about a week," Charles Dunne, the U.S Marshal for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. "This case exemplifies the ability of the U.S. Marshals to return fugitives to justice using a combination of modern technology and traditional investigative techniques."