Second officer in Harlem shooting dies: NYPD
The New York Police Department announced Officer Wilbert Mora has succumbed to his injuries after being critically shot Friday night.
The second NYPD officer gravely wounded while responding to a domestic incident in Harlem five days ago succumbed to his injuries Tuesday.
Officer Wilbert Mora was a four-year veteran of the force, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said.
"It’s with great sadness I announce the passing of Police Officer Wilbert Mora," she tweeted. "Wilbert is 3 times a hero. For choosing a life of service. For sacrificing his life to protect others. For giving life even in death through organ donation. Our heads are bowed & our hearts are heavy."
The 27-year-old was transferred from Harlem Hospital to NYU Langone Medical Center around 5 p.m. Sunday, as he remained in critical condition at the time.
After Mora succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday, several NYPD officers lined up outside of NYU Langone to pay their respects as his remains were loaded into an ambulance.
The New York City Medical Examiner will conduct a full autopsy before his remains are given to his family.
"The grief in this Department is incalculable. We will stand, salute and shed tears, yet manage to smile as we remember him during the extremely difficult days ahead," Sewell wrote in an internal email to members of the New York Police Department, obtained by Fox News Digital. "Police Officers Wilbert Mora and Jason Rivera were dedicated, courageous and compassionate officers, loved by many. The pain their families feel is immeasurable. We pray for them; we will be strong for them."
"You put yourselves in harm’s way every day to make this city safer," Sewell told members of the department. "You are honoring the legacy and sacrifice of Jason and Wilbert, all while keeping our solemn vow never to forget our two fallen heroes."
Mora, assigned to the 32nd Precinct, was shot in the head while responding to a domestic incident in Harlem Friday night with his partner, 22-year-old Jason Rivera, who joined the NYPD in 2020.
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A general view shows the taped off area marking the scene of a shooting in Harlem, New York on January 22, 2022. - New York's mayor called on the federal government to help "stop the flow of weapons" in the city after a police officer was killed and another wounded in a shooting. (NYPD | Photo by ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)
Both officers made their way down a narrow apartment hallway to a back bedroom where a woman said her son who had been threatening her was located.
Lashawn McNeil, 47, allegedly kicked open the bedroom door and started shooting Rivera and Mora without warning. They were rushed to a hospital, where Rivera was pronounced dead.
Rivera's wake is scheduled for Thursday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The funeral is Friday at 9 a.m.
McNeil was also in critical condition after a third officer, Sumit Sulan, shot him while he was allegedly trying to flee. McNeil was in possession of a gun stolen from Baltimore in 2017, police said.
McNeil died from those injuries Monday, Mayor Eric Adams announced.
Since the start of the new year, five officers have been shot in New York City, two fatally.
Other shootings that left officers wounded happened during a State Island drug raid, a struggle with a 16-year-old alleged gang member in a rowdy Bronx crowd and in a separate Harlem incident.
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In reaction to Rivera’s death, Gov. Kathy Hochul pledged state resources to "fight the scourge of illegal guns on our streets," asking Washington to team up with her to stop gun trafficking from out of state. But Republicans and police union leaders say it's the state bail reform law that’s contributing to the uptick in shootings, as more offenders are released back onto the streets under cashless bail.
New York Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul speaks during a news conference the day after Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation at the New York State Capitol, in Albany, New York, U.S., August 11, 2021. (REUTERS/Cindy Schultz)
Adams has pledged to reinstate a modified version of the plainclothes gun unit. It was disbanded in 2020 under his predecessor Bill de Blasio in the wake of the defund police movement.
Fox News’ Stephanie Pagones and Paul Best contributed to this report.
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