AN NYPD rookie cop was shot dead last night and another officer was left fighting for his life after being ambushed during a domestic disturbance call.
Slain officer Jason Rivera, 22, and gravely wounded Wilbert Mora, 27, had been attending an incident involving a mother and son in Harlem, New York City, when they were gunned down.
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The officers were among four NYPD cops shot in the line of duty just this week.
The department tweeted: “Tonight, we mourn the loss of a hero officer — a son, husband, and friend.
“Only 22 years old, Police Officer Jason Rivera was murdered in the line of duty.
“We vow to #NeverForget Jason as his fellow Finest vow to honor his tremendous legacy of service & the ultimate sacrifice.”
Speaking to reporters at Harlem Hospital where the badly wounded cop was being treated,
Mayor Eric Adams said: “This is an attack on the city of New York. It is time for us to save our city. No one will divide this city with their violence.”
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Suspect Lashawn McNeil, 47, was shot in the head and arm by a third officer as he tried to flee, and was hospitalized in critical condition, NYPD Chief of detectives James Essig said at a press conference.
The alleged gunman was on probation for a 2003 felony narcotics conviction in New York City, Essig said, as well as serving previous arrests outside of the Big Apple.
In 1998, he was arrested in South Carolina for unlawful possession of a weapon, although this was later dismissed.
McNeil was then busted for assaulting a police officer in Pennsylvania in 2002.
The next year he was arrested twice in Pennsylvania, once on a felony drug charge and also on a misdemeanor narcotics charge.
Moments before the cops were shot, Police say their officers, along with a third cop, went to an apartment at 119 West 135th Street at around 6:15 p.m. after getting a call from a mom about needing help with her son, who was identified as 47-year-old Lashawn McNeil.
After speaking to the mom, two of the officers walked to the back of the apartment, down a narrow hallway toward a back bedroom.
At this point McNeil swung the door open and fired, striking both officers.
NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell told reporters: “He suddenly, without warning, opened fire on them.
When McNeil tried to flee, the third officer opened fire, striking him in the head and arm, police said. He was undergoing surgery late Friday.
A Glock .45 with a high-capacity magazine that holds up to 40 extra rounds was found at the scene.
It had allegedly been reported stolen in Baltimore.
Tonight, we mourn the loss of a hero officer — a son, husband, and friend
NYPD
Tapes of police radio calls captured cops frantically calling for an ambulance or other transport for the injured officers from the scene.
Christopher Espinoza, a 29-year-old Harlem resident, told the New York Post: “It’s crazy out here.
“It’s the Wild Wild West, especially with cops being shot. Imagine what happens with regular citizens.”
Another local, known as Brian, said: “This is terrible for the police. I just want to live in peace… It’s terrible.
“There are too many guns on the street. There’s not enough humanity between us, whatever side you’re on.”
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The Harlem shooting came just a day after an NYPD detective was shot and injured during a drug bust on Staten Island.
Dominick Libretti, the injured detective, suffered a potential “career-ending injury” when a suspect fired “numerous shots” through a bedroom door, according to reports
On Tuesday, officer Kaseem Pennant was shot in the leg by a teenage suspect in The Bronx.
On New Year’s Day, Officer Keith Wagenhauser was hit with bullet fragments as he sat in his car outside an East Harlem police station after his shift.
He was expected to make a full recovery.
The last NYPD member to be killed on the job was Anastasios Tsakos, 43, who was struck by an alleged drunk driver on the Long Island Expressway last April.
Police say 5 people were shot during shootout in Manhattan
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