A New York Police Department officer was shot and killed in the Bronx early Sunday morning during a struggle with a suspect, officials said.
Brian Mulkeen, 33, a six-and-a-half-year NYPD veteran, was patrolling the streets with the anti-crime unit monitoring gang activity, police said Sunday. When Mulkeen and two other officers questioned a man in a car at around 12:30 a.m., the suspect ran off.
As a violent struggle to stop the man ensued, Mulkeen was shot three times, and five officers fired their weapons, the NYPD said. The 27-year-old suspect, who is not currently being identified, died at the scene.
In body-camera footage of the incident, Mulkeen can be heard yelling, “He’s reaching for it! He’s reaching for it!” referring to the suspect’s .32 caliber revolver that was recovered nearby.
Police said Mulkeen’s gun was fired multiple times while he wrestled with the suspect, but authorities are unsure if Mulkeen pulled the trigger, or the suspect, whose revolver does not appear to have been fired.
Mulkeen was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition after the shooting, where he later died.
“This is a very sad day for our city,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in the early morning press conference. “We lost a hero.”
Mulkeen, a resident of Yorktown Heights, lived with his girlfriend, who is also a member of the department. Earlier Saturday, Mulkeen had arrested a man in possession of a gun, police said.
NYPD officers lined up outside the hospital in the Bronx where Mulkeen died early Sunday morning to give a final salute to their fallen colleague, and the city has ordered flags be lowered at half-mast.
“Officer Mulkeen was taken far, far too early from his family and from the city he sacrificed everything to protect,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. “He is the embodiment of bravery and a true New York hero.”
