NYPD officer Wilbert Mora, 27, has died after being shot while responding to a call in Harlem Friday night, New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said Tuesday.
“It’s with great sadness I announce the passing of Police Officer Wilbert Mora,” Sewell tweeted. “Wilbert is 3 times a hero. For choosing a life of service. For sacrificing his life to protect others. For giving life even in death through organ donation. Our heads are bowed & our hearts are heavy.”
He was transferred from Harlem Hospital to NYU Langone Health in Kips Bay Sunday night, his ambulance flanked by a police procession, as he fought for his life after sustaining a gunshot wound to the head, per ABC 7. According to an NYPD spokesperson, Mora needed surgery and was in “extremely critical condition” over the weekend.
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His death follows that of his rookie partner, 22-year-old Jason Rivera, who died at the scene. As the NYPD mourns the loss of Mora, they are also preparing for Rivera’s wake, which is scheduled for Thursday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. His funeral will be Friday at 9 a.m.
The fatal tragedy unfolded Friday night as Mora, Rivera, and a third NYPD rookie officer, 27-year-old Sumit Sulan, responded to a call from an apartment on West 135th Street. A woman there had said she needed help after fighting with her son, 47-year-old Lashawn McNeil.
The caller said there were no guns in the home but law enforcement sources told the New York Post she didn’t know her son had two guns in his bedroom, including a stolen Glock.
Once inside the home, Mora and Rivera walked down a hallway towards the room where McNeil was holed up, while Sulan attended to the distressed mother.
When the officers reached the room, McNeil flung open the door and began firing, striking both Mora and Rivera. As McNeil made his way down the hall, Sulan responded with gunfire, striking the assailant in the arm and head.
Rivera died that evening; Mora was rushed to a hospital where he fought for his life over the weekend.
As reported by CBS 2, Sulan had only been on the job for two months and was being trained by Mora when he responded heroically in the harrowing encounter. He was physically unharmed. McNeil, who was hospitalized in critical condition, died of his injuries on Monday.
