Police are continuing a massive manhunt for the suspect who callously shot an off-duty officer in the head during a botched robbery in Brooklyn Saturday night.
A 26-year-old cop is fighting for his life Sunday as new details emerge regarding the East New York firefight.
According to police, the unnamed officer and his brother were attempting to purchase a car at around 7 p.m. on Feb. 4 behind a McDonald’s near Ruby Street and Linden Boulevard when a gunman held up the pair and gunfire ensued. The officer, a five-year veteran of the force and a father of two children, was rushed to Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center, where he remains in critical condition.
Sources familiar with the investigation told amNewYork Metro that the shooter made his getaway in a black vehicle. The attempted car transaction was conducted through Facebook Marketplace, which leads police to believe they know the identity of the suspect and are now merely attempting to locate his whereabouts.
During a visit to the hospital hours later, Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell pledged to apprehend the suspect in order to bring justice to the family.
“An officer conducting a simple errand and a dangerous person pulled out a firearm,” the mayor said to press outside of Brookdale. “As we see so far and so often in the city, too many illegal guns are in the hands of bad people and doing bad things. I spoke with the officer’s wife, saw his beautiful children. We’re all lifting his family up in prayer. We will catch the person responsible for this act.”
At the same press conference, President of the Police Benevolent Association Pat Lynch did not mince words, nor did he hide his contempt for local lawmakers’ stances on bail reform.
“For some time now, we have been listening to our legislators talk about crime as if it is a fantasy, it’s not real —talking about it as if it is just numbers on a page when in reality it is human lives,” Lynch said. “We have asked for help before, we are asking and demanding help now. You are living in a fantasy world. Want to see reality? Look at the devastation that those rounds caused to that young man’s body.”
As police continue to search for the suspect, they are also requesting tips from New Yorkers who may have information leading to the gunman’s whereabouts.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
