The wounded NYPD officer who survived Friday night’s Harlem shooting that killed a fellow officer is reported to be fighting for his life and Sunday fellow officers lined the street to honor Officer Jason Rivera, 22, who was killed in the same shooting.
Officer Wilbert Mora, 27, was transferred Sunday to NYU Langone Health in Kips Bay. A police procession accompanied the ambulance carrying Mora from Harlem Hospital, and a line of first responders saluted as he arrived on Manhattan's East Side, ABC7NY reported. Mora, a four-year veteran of the NYPD, suffered life-threatening injuries after being shot in the head.
On Sunday hundreds of NYPD officers stood shoulder-to-shoulder with New York City firefighters as a hearse carrying Rivera’s body left the medical examiner.
During a press conference following the fatal shooting, New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell detailed what happened. She explained three officers responded to provide assistance during a domestic dispute. One of the parties in the family dispute shot two officers then was wounded by a third officer.
“He suddenly without warning opened fire on them. In a moment a young 22-year-old life was ended and another life forever altered. Our department is hurting. Our city is hurting. It is beyond comprehension,” Sewell said.
CBS New York reported the deadly encounter with the suspect, 47-year-old Lashawn McNeil, a convicted felon, unfolded around 6:30 p.m. Police said they got a call about a domestic dispute between McNeil and his mother, a retired corrections officer. Once officers got inside, McNeil opened fire without warning, police said.
NYPD Chief of Detectives James W. Essig, during a press conference, explained what happened when officers arrived at the apartment in Harlem. He said the officers responded to a 911 call about a family dispute. The caller, a female, had stated she was disputing with her son and made no mention of injuries or weapons. Officers entered the apartment and were met by the female caller and another one of her sons. She told them the other son that she was disputing with was in a back bedroom. Essig described the home as an open, one-bedroom apartment that contains a 30-foot long, narrow, hallway leading to the bedroom.
“One officer remained with the two family members while two other officers go to the back bedroom,” Essig said. “As our first officers approach the bedroom, the door swings open, numerous shots are fired, striking both officers, one fatally and one in critical condition. As the perpetrator attempts to exit, he is confronted by our third officer who fires two rounds, striking him in the right arm and head.”
Essig also said a Glock 45 that was stolen in 2017 from Baltimore was recovered along with a high-capacity magazine that holds up to 40 additional rounds. Police are working with the Joint Firearms Task Force and the ATF to further trace the gun. The chief of detectives provided information on McNeil’s criminal background after Friday’s shooting. The suspect had one prior arrest in New York City leading to a felony conviction of narcotics in 2003, for which he is on probation. Other prior arrests include a 1998 arrest in South Carolina for unlawful possession of a weapon, a 2002 Pennsylvania arrest for assaulting a police officer, a 2003 arrest in Pennsylvania for felony drug possession, and a 2003 arrest in Pennsylvania on a misdemeanor narcotics charge.
