NEW YORK — An off-duty police officer remains in critical condition after being shot in the head Saturday night during a botched robbery in Brooklyn, authorities say.
The 26-year-old police officer was injured during an exchange of fire behind a McDonald’s in Ruby Street in East New York, the department said at a news conference Saturday night.
Emergency services arrived on the Brooklyn block around 7:00 p.m. and transported the officer to Brookdale Hospital.
“This appears to be an attempted robbery during an attempt to purchase a vehicle,” Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said, adding that the officer was fighting for his life.
Mayor Eric Adams added that the officer, a five-year veteran of the department assigned to patrol, is married with two children. The officials declined to release his name or any further details about him.
NYPD officials said the officer and his brother-in-law were in the process of buying a car after a deal in Facebook Marketplace when the alleged seller pulled out weapons and demanded money, he then shot the victim in the head.
After the officer went down, sources said his brother-in-law removed a firearm from the officer’s holster and returned fire at the vendor. The suspect fled into a black BMW SUV and drove away.
High-level law enforcement sources told our sister network News 4 that authorities are now investigating whether it may be linked to similar recent robberies.
“Too many illegal firearms are in the hands of bad people doing bad things. I spoke to the officer’s wife, saw her beautiful children. We are all lifting her family up in prayer. Let’s catch the person responsible for this act,” he said Adams.
It was the second shooting of an NYPD officer in less than three weeks, following a January 17 incident in the Bronx. The police officer in that case, who was on patrol, was shot in the arm, allegedly by a 16-year-old gunman.
