The NYPD said 22-year-old Jason Rivera died while 27-year-old Wilbert Mora is in critical condition at Harlem Hospital.
This is a breaking news update, previous story below.
Two police officers responding to a domestic violence call of a mother and son fighting were shot, one fatally, in a first floor Harlem apartment.
The mother called police for help and met them in the front of the apartment at 119 West 135 Street at around 6:30 p.m.
When they went to a rear room to talk to the man, shots suddenly rang out, striking them both.
The 47-year-old suspect, believed to be the son, was then shot by another officer. He was later identified as Lashawn McNeil and was said to be in critical condition.
The officers were taken to Harlem Hospital in police cruisers. A 22-year-old officer was pronounced dead and the other is in surgery.
“I am struggling to find the words to express what we are enduring, we’re mourning and we’re angry,” said NYPD Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell. “The pain their families are experiencing is not something anyone can put into words. The three officers who arrived at that scene were doing their jobs.”
WATCH | Commissioner Sewell: ‘Our department is hurting, our city is hurting’
“It is our city against the killers, this was just not an attack on three brave officers, this was an attack on the city of New York – it is an attack on the children and families of this city,” Mayor Eric Adams said.
One of the officers is a rookie and joined the department in 2020. The other joined in 2018.
Officers had previously responded to the apartment for a domestic violence call in August.
McNeil has one prior arrest in New York City for narcotics in 2003 and four arrests outside of NYC, including unlawful possession of a weapon and assaulting a police officer.
During an emotional press briefing, Adams spoke directly to the officers of the NYPD as they mourn one of their own.
“I have to ask you, no matter how painful this moment is, please do not give up on the people in this city,” Adams said.
WATCH | Mayor Eric Adams on police shooting: An attack on NYC
Police said the weapon used to shoot the officers was stolen from Baltimore in 2017.
Adams and PBA President Patrick Lynch made passionate pleas on the importance of getting guns off the streets.
“Stop babies from being shot, stop the violence, the guns coming in — help us take them off the belt so they’re never shot again,” Lynch said.
WATCH | PBA President Pat Lynch: It’s time the city cries with us
Gov. Kathy Hochul released the following statement on Twitter, offering her condolences to the officer’s family:
“I am horrified by tonight’s tragedy in Harlem. My thoughts are with the family who answered the phone to receive the news they’ve always dreaded: that their loved one, who had sworn to protect and serve New Yorkers by joining @NYPDnews will not be coming home. I am praying for the recovery of his partner, the officer who is fighting for his life, and for his family. I know that all of New York is standing with these officers and their families. We must urgently confront the plague of gun violence in our state. Too many lives are being lost, and too many New Yorkers are living in fear. This is a crisis. That’s why earlier today, I extended an Executive Order declaring a gun violence State of Emergency. In the Executive Budget I released earlier this week, I put forward a plan to triple resources for our gun interdiction efforts, to stop the flow of illegal guns into our state, and also triple resources for violence interrupter programs to address the root causes of violence. I refuse to allow our cities to be gripped with fear. New Yorkers deserve action from their elected officials – and they will get it. I’ve pledged my full support to @NYCMayor and look forward to working with him and other leaders to continue to take meaningful actions to make New Yorkers safer.”
WATCH | Witnesses describe deadly police shooting in Harlem
There have been a total of four police officers and three suspects shot within the last 72 hours.
One officer was shot in the Bronx and one in Staten Island. Both of those earlier shootings were non-life-threatening.
WATCH | 5 NYPD officers have been shot since the start of 2022
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