Hindustan Surkhiyan Desk: An NYPD officer was killed by friendly fire during a robbery in Queens on Tuesday night.
The shooting was reported near Atlantic Avenue and 121st Street in the Richmond Hill section around 6 p.m.
The incident unfolded as officers responded to an armed robbery at a T-Mobile store. Police said it turns out the suspect was carrying a fake weapon, but multiple officers fired multiple rounds.
A sergeant and a detective were struck by gunfire. The detective, an 19-year veteran of the force, died from injuries suffered in the shooting.
He was later identified as 42-year-old Det. Brian Simonsen.
Friendly fire aside, Police Commissioner James O’Neill said Simonsen’s death is due to the actions of the suspect, described as a career criminal.
“Brian was a good man, he was a good detective, just to tell you a little bit about him, I saw him this morning and whether you know it or not, he’s the elected delegate of the 102nd Precinct Detectives Squad,” said Michael Palladino with the Detectives’ Endowment Association. “What that means is his fellow detectives saw leadership skills in him.”
Sources say the sergeant was shot in the thigh and his injuries are not life-threatening.
A third member of service was also injured after returning fire, striking the suspect.
At least one suspect was shot and wounded. He was taken to the hospital and was said to be stable.
Sources say another suspect may have been picked up during a traffic stop.
Witnesses told Eyewitness News they heard at least a dozen shots ring out during the incident. Some nearby businesses locked their doors and waited for police to tell them it was safe.
Officers from all over the city responded to Jamaica Hospital after news of the shooting.
In a moving display outside Jamaica Hospital, officers from all over the city gather to salute fallen NYPD Det. Brian Simonsen. https://t.co/4ibh6UVIlt pic.twitter.com/FzRdIoCc9x
— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) February 13, 2019
This is believed to be the first fatal shooting of an officer in the line of duty in New York City since Miosotis Familia on July 5, 2017.
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