An off-duty NYPD officer's condition remained critical Sunday after officials say he was shot in the head during a botched holdup.
The 26-year-old cop was shot in the head during an exchange of gunfire behind a McDonald's off Ruby Street in East New York, the department said at a late Saturday night news conference.
Emergency responders flooded the Brooklyn block around 7 p.m. and transported the officer to Brookdale Hospital, where his family rushed to find him early Sunday.
"This appears to be an attempted robbery during an attempt to purchase a vehicle," Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said, adding that he was fighting for his life.
Mayor Eric Adams said the officer, a five-year veteran assigned to patrol, is married with two children. Officials declined to release his name or further details on the wounded cop.
NYPD officials said the officer and his brother-in-law were in the process of buying a car after a deal made on Facebook Marketplace when the purported seller drew guns and demanded money, then shot the victim in the head.
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After the cop went down, sources said his brother-in-law removed a firearm from the officer's holster and returned fire at the seller. The suspect fled to an awaiting black BMW SUV and took off.
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Senior law enforcement sources tell News 4 that authorities are now looking into whether it may be linked to similar recent robberies.
"Too many illegal guns are in the hands of bad people and doing bad things. I spoke with the officer's wife, saw his beautiful children. We're all lifting his family up in prayer. We will catch the person responsible for this act," Adams said.
It was the second shooting of an NYPD officer in less than three weeks, following a Jan. 17 incident in the Bronx. The cop in that case, who was on patrol, was shot in the arm - allegedly by a 16-year-old gunman.
