Suspect in Deadly Shootings of Nassau County Cop, Driver Caught

Police captured Darrell Fuller, 33, in Queens Tuesday

The suspect in the deadly shootings of a Nassau County police officer and a random motorist Tuesday has been captured in Queens, officials said. 

Darrell Fuller, 33, was found in a parked car near 173rd Street and 111th Avenue in St. Albans and appeared to have two self-inflicted gunshot wounds, Nassau County authorities said. He's been taken to Jamaica Hospital, where he remains in police custody. 

NYPD officers found Fuller after someone heard gunshots and called 911.

Police had been hunting for Fuller after he allegedly shot Officer Arthur Lopez, 29, during a traffic stop before gunning down a motorist as he tried to get away along the border of Queens and Long Island.

Authorities said Lopez and another Nassau officer were heading north on Northern Boulevard when they saw a vehicle leave the scene of an accident near the Queens border.

They pulled over the suspect, who was driving a Honda, and he began firing at them after a short conversation, killing Lopez, law enforcement officials said. Lopez was not wearing a bulletproof vest; the other officer was not shot.

A man who said he witnessed the shooting while he was stopped at a gas station along the highway said it happened during what looked like a routine traffic stop.

"The officer's walking up to the car. They just pulled out and shot," said Paul Walcott, a music producer from Bayside, Queens. "He went right down. He got hit point blank. He went straight down."

The suspect took off, ditching the car before carjacking a Toyota and shooting its driver, 52-year-old Raymond Facey, most recently of East New York, in the head.

Facey had pulled over on the highway to talk on the phone with his daughter, who heard the attack, his family said.

"She called [Facey's wife] to say 'Something is wrong with Daddy, because I was talking to him and then I heard him saying, "Who's chasing you?'" according to Jocelyn Cameron, Facey's brother-in-law. "And then she heard him make a funny sound, like he's frightened. And then she hear nothing more." 

That Toyota was later found abandoned. Police identified 33-year-old Fuller as the suspect by tracing the registration on the Honda, sources tell NBC 4 New York.

Nearby schools were put on lockdown while police searched for the suspect, Department of Education officials said. Residents were also told to stay in their homes while police went from house to house.

It was the second time in the past week that a Nassau County officer has died in the line of duty. Highway patrolman Joseph Olivieri was killed Thursday while responding to a traffic accident caused by an alleged drunk driver.

Lopez was an eight-year veteran of the department and was a volunteer firefighter on Long Island.

Nassau County PBA President James Carter described him as "full of life, full of energy, a great cop and a great friend."

Facey was about to welcome a grandson.

"He was happy about that," said neighbor Tony Facey, who was not related to the victim. "He came and told me his daughter is about to expect. She's looking good, he's looking good, and all of a sudden, he's gone from us." 

WATCH: Neighbors of Murdered Cop, Motorist Speak

Fuller has two prior arrests and convictions: one in October 2004 for attempted murder, and another in March 2010 for selling crack cocaine, according to law enforcement sources.

He was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to the attempted murder charge, and then served nine months on the drug conviction, sources said. He was still on parole when he allegedly shot and killed Lopez and Facey Tuesday. 

WATCH: Suspect in Deadly Shootings Has Long Criminal Record, Officials Say

Fuller is in custody and can't be reached for comment. No one answered the door at his mother's home in Springfield Gardens, where he was living.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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