NYPD Cop in Critical Condition After Shooting; Suspect in Custody
Suspect opened fire after cops said they wanted to question him, officials say.
— -- A plainclothes New York Police Department officer was in critical condition Saturday night after he was shot by a man who opened fire on his unmarked car, city officials said.
Officer Brian Moore, a five-year veteran, was on duty with his partner Eric Jansen, 30, as part of an anti-crime unit in the Queens Village section of the city when he was shot at around 6:15 p.m., police said.
He and his partner were in their unmarked patrol car when they saw a man walking in the street adjust something in the waistband of his pants that appeared to be a gun, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said Saturday night.
When the officers told the man to stop, he turned, pulled out a gun and began shooting into the car, Bratton said.
Moore, 25, was shot in the face, and was rushed by police cruiser to Jamaica Hospital Center, where he was visited by Mayor Bill de Blasio.
"It is a painful day for all of us," said de Blasio.
Moore listed in critical but stable condition after undergoing surgery.
The suspect fled on foot, sparking a massive manhunt through the neighborhood, with officers searching houses, on roofs and in back yards, and checking under cars.
Witnesses told police that a man matching the suspect's description had gone into a house, and the suspect, identified as Demetrius Blackwell, was arrested there, Bratton said.
Bratton said Blackwell has a long arrest record.