Two New York City police officers were killed in a shooting in Harlem on Friday, officials said. They were the third and fourth officers to be shot in the line of duty this week, according to the Police Department.
The police did not immediately provide information about what had precipitated the shooting of the officers, who were taken to Harlem Hospital. One suspect was also shot, officials said. Information on the person’s condition was not immediately available.
The shooting happened around 6 p.m. near the intersection of Lenox Avenue and West 135th Street. Within an hour, dozens of officers were in the area, which was sealed off by yellow caution tape and a half-dozen patrol cars.
Mayor Eric Adams — who had been in the Bronx earlier attending a vigil for an 11-month-old girl who was hit in the face by a stray bullet on Wednesday night — was headed to the hospital, a spokesman said.
Late Tuesday, another officer was shot in the leg as he scuffled with a teenage suspect during a confrontation in the Bronx. Early Thursday, a detective was shot in the leg when a man fired through a door during a search for drugs at a Staten Island home, officials said.
The last New York City officer to be fatally shot was Brian Mulkeen, who was killed by so-called friendly fire in September 2019 while he struggled with an armed man in the Bronx.
In October 2015, Officer Randolph Holder was fatally shot by a suspect he was chasing in East Harlem. The previous December, two officers, Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, were killed while sitting in their patrol car in Brooklyn. The gunman shot them at point-blank range after traveling to New York from Baltimore intent on killing officers.
This is a developing story.
Lola Fadulu, Troy Closson and Ali Watkins reporting.