NEW YORK — The family of an off-duty police officer who was shot in the head and critically wounded is now in the process of making grave “decisions” about his medical treatment, Mayor Eric Adams said Monday morning.
“We are lifting the family up in prayers, and right now the family is deciding their decisions and is still in the care of the medical professionals,” Adams said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
The police officer, who has not yet been identified by the New York Police Department, had been planning to purchase a car he found online, but he became the victim of a holdup on Saturday instead, according to police sources, who said a relative of the officer returned fire once the deal went sideways.
The officer is being treated at Brookdale University Hospital in Brooklyn, where his family and fellow officers are praying for his recovery. A manhunt for the robber who shot the 26-year-old officer is still underway.
“He was out purchasing a car, like many of us do in America,” Adams said. “He answered an ad and he was looking to purchase a car when it appears as though something went terribly wrong.”
The officer and a relative, who was described as either his brother or brother-in-law, were planning to buy a Honda Pilot for $20,000 that had been listed on Facebook Marketplace, according to sources.
But when they arrived at Ruby Street near Linden Boulevard in East New York, the man who offered to sell them the car pulled out a gun. When the officer went for his own weapon, the robber opened fire, letting off six rounds, sources said.
Adams said Monday that whoever shot the officer likely has a criminal history.
“When we find the guilty person, I bet you he has an extensive criminal record,” he said. “I bet you he’s one of the 1,700 people who are extremely violent in our city.”
Since last year, Adams has been pushing for lawmakers to change state bail laws to allow judges to factor in a person’s “dangerousness” when setting bail.
“I guarantee you when we catch him ― and we will catch him — the shooter I guarantee you ... will have an extensive past and a criminal record of violence,” Adams said earlier Monday on Fox5.
“We did an analysis of those who have been arrested two or more times. We call them extreme recidivists. And you see that they’re repeatedly part of the criminal justice system, and continue to commit violent crimes. Many of them are gun-related, but also robberies, burglaries, grand larcenies. And you narrow it down, there’s a pocket of people that commit a substantial amount of crimes in the city.”
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