What to Know
- NYPD Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo, 41, was shot and killed while responding to a home invasion in the Bronx Friday, officials say
- Bronx President Ruben Diaz Jr. called the shooting "heartbreaking" and sent his condolences to Tuozzolo's family and the NYPD
- Mayor Bill de Blasio told Tuozzolo's family that the city and NYPD "would be there for them for years and years to come"
Hundreds of community members, friends and local and state officials have gathered in Huntington for a candlelight vigil honoring Paul Tuozzolo, the officer killed in a shootout Friday afternoon in the Bronx.
Candles were lit as royal blue ribbons were passed around the crowd gathered in front of the Paramount Theater Saturday afternoon. A fireman lowered a flag to half-staff.
Among the throng of people were Sergeants Benevolent Association President Ed Mullins, Suffolk Police Commissioner Tim Sini and County Executive Steve Bellone. The SBA created a GoFundMe page for Tuozzolo shortly before the vigil.
Blue and white candles flickered quietly below three balloons as part of a makeshift memorial, where a delegation of Patrolmen's Benevolent Association officials laid bouquets of flowers.
Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered all flags on city buildings to fly at half-staff until Tuozzolo is laid to rest.
Local
"The city is in mourning and the family of the NYPD is in mourning, particularly all the men and the women of the 43rd Precinct, who lost a good man, a man who committed his life to protecting all of us," Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news briefing Friday evening.
PBA President Patrick J. Lynch hailed the 19-year NYPD veteran as a hero who made the ultimate sacrifice in his dedication to protecting others.
"We must straighten our shoulders as we look to the Tuozzolo family with love and support as they face the difficult task of saying goodbye and a future of perpetual loss," he said in a statement.
Politicians and police chiefs from precincts around the country sent their support to Tuozzolo's family on social media.
Bronx President Ruben Diaz Jr. called the shooting a "heartbreaking incident" and sent his condolences to the officers' families.
"My thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of these two sergeants and the entire NYPD as they mourn the loss of their partner and colleague," he said in a statement Friday afternoon.
Diaz Jr. added that Tuozzolo's death gives perspective to the difficulties law enforcement officials face daily.
A neighbor remembers him as a family man with a good disposition to all.
"He was a good family man, good guy," said a neighbor. "A decent human being. That's the only way to describe him."
Tuozzolo was shot and killed Friday afternoon in an attempt to apprehend a 35-year-old man who held his family hostage during a home invasion in the Van Nest neighborhood of the Bronx. He is the fifth NYPD officer to be fatally shot in the line of duty in the last two years.
