An NYPD officer has died after being shot in the head during a confrontation with an armed man by the FDR Drive in East Harlem, senior police officials say.
The officer was taken to Harlem Hospital in “very critical” condition and died there, the sources said. His family was by his side.
Police were first called to East Harlem for a report of gunshots fired and an armed man riding a bicycle around 102nd Street, sources tell NBC 4 New York.
When officers caught up with the man several blocks north, on 120th Street near the FDR Drive, a shootout ensued, sources said. One of the officers was shot in the head during the shootout and taken to Harlem Hospital, where he later died.
A short time later, a man with a bullet wound to the leg was found along 125th Street. Police are looking to see whether the man is the suspect or another victim, a senior police official said, citing preliminary investigation.
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That man was taken to Cornell Medical Center.
Two guns have been recovered, sources said.
The shot officer, who has five years on the job, worked in the anti-crime unit of PSA No. 5, a command that polices New York City Public Housing developments in East Harlem and Harlem, according to sources. Dozens of uniformed and plainclothes officers lined the hallway at the hospital in the moments after the wounded officer was taken there while other officers held each other as they arrived. Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton were also at the hospital and were expected to update the media sometime during the night. The FDR Drive was closed in both directions between 120th Street and 125th Street as police responded. Drivers were urged to expect extensive delays and consider alternate routes.Recommended
NBC New York