An NYPD police officer passed away Monday, two days after being shot in the head while sitting in an unmarked car in Queens. The NYPD has not yet released an official statement.
Officer Brian Moore, 25, a five-year veteran, had been in critical condition at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. He underwent surgery for what court papers described as “severe injuries to his skull and brain.”
Sadly, he passed away from his massive injuries.
The suspect, Demetrius Blackwell, was ordered held without bail Sunday after appearing in Queens Criminal Court. He did not enter a plea to charges of attempted murder.
Prosecutors planned to present the case to a grand jury before Blackwell’s next court appearance on Friday.
Blackwell’s court-appointed lawyer, David Bart, said his client denied the charges, which also include assault and weapons offenses.
Police on Monday continued to search for the weapon.
“This was nothing more and nothing less than a cold-blooded attempt at an assassination of New York’s finest,” Assistant District Attorney Peter McCormack said.
McCormack said Moore and patrol partner Erik Jansen — both in plainclothes in an unmarked police car — approached Blackwell on a Queens street after seeing him tugging at his waistband around 6:15 p.m. Saturday and asked him “What are you carrying?”
The officers ordered Blackwell to stop and exchanged words with him. That’s when Blackwell turned, the prosecutor said, and “in a vicious manner started to fire” — at least two shots.
Jansen was not hit and radioed for help.
