Wounded NYPD officer fights for life; funeral plans announced for partner after Harlem shooting

Tuesday, January 25, 2022
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- NYPD officer Wilbert Mora, who was wounded and his partner killed while responding to a domestic call, continues his fight for life Monday after being transferred to NYU Langone Health in Kips Bay.

A police procession accompanied the ambulance carrying Officer Mora Sunday night from Harlem Hospital, and a line of first responders saluted as he arrived on Manhattan's East Side.
Officer injured in Harlem shooting transferred to NYU Langone

The 27-year-old officer, a four-year veteran of the NYPD, suffered life-threatening injuries after being shot in the head Friday night in Harlem. Rookie Officer Jason Rivera, 22, was killed.
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Rivera was the first to encounter the shooter in a back bedroom after his mother called 911 saying he was being problematic.

Funeral plans have now been finalized for the officer, who will be laid to rest later this week.

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Services for Rivera will be held at St. Patrick's Cathedral with a wake on Thursday from 1-8 p.m. and a funeral on Friday at 9 a.m.

Meanwhile, a vigil was set to be held outside the 32nd precinct in Harlem on Monday night.
Vigil to be held for NYPD officers shot in Harlem




A solemn scene unfolded Sunday with a column of uniformed police officers, as well as a line of firefighters, flanking the streets as a hearse carrying the fallen officer left the medical examiner's office.
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Over the weekend, Eyewitness News spoke to one of Rivera's former teachers, who said he joined the force to make a difference.

"The idea of him being the first person to run toward, to go toward a problem, to try to help solve a problem to go and try help somebody in need, is absolutely characteristic of Jason," Samantha Love said.
Body of fallen NYPD officer transferred from medical examiner's office

Meantime, a third officer at the scene of Friday night's violence is being hailed a hero.

Officer Sumit Sulan joined the NYPD last year and was already winning praise for getting illegal guns off the streets.

The 27-year-old officer fired the shot that finally took down the alleged shooter, Lashawn McNeil, who police say was in possession of a gun stolen from Baltimore in 2017.

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McNeil was hospitalized in critical condition. He was pronounced dead on Monday afternoon after showing no brain activity since Friday.



Mayor Eric Adams spoke to Officer Sulan's parents.
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"They understand what every parent understands, that you just want your child to come home," Adams said. "And when I hugged his mother, she talked about, she just stays up every time her son was on duty."

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