This Tuesday, after three days fighting for his life, the second officer of the New York City Police Department (NYPD), Wilbert Mora, died after being shot in an apartment in Harlem while attending a domestic violence complaint.
Mora, 27, was the other effective faced shots with his partner of Dominican origin Jason Rivera, last Friday during the fateful minutes that they responded to an emergency call to 911, from a mother who reported her son’s aggressive behavior.
The home visit to attend to a case of domestic violence ended in tragedy. When the uniformed youth entered the property, defendant Lashawn McNeil, met them with an ambush of gunfire from a back room.
“Wilbert is three 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 and our hearts are heavy”, said on the social network twitter, Keechant Sewell, commissioner of the NYPD.
This officer, who had served the NYPD since 2018, was in serious condition after having withstood the impact of a bullet to the head. Last Sunday he had been transferred to the NYU Langone Medical Center in Kips Bay, where he died.
Both police officers not only agreed on their dreams of protecting New Yorkers, but also on their Hispanic origin. In addition, they are among the five officers who have been the target of detonations in this month of January.
Elevated to “NYC Heroes”
Mayor Eric Adams, who testified this week a “war” on several fronts against violence armed in the Big Apple, described the deceased officer as a “hero”.
“He served his city, protected his community and gave his life for our safety. Our the city is in mourning again and our broken hearts”, said the municipal representative.
Exactly so far in 2022, the shooting on the streets of New York City they have blinded the lives of 20 people.
“Officer Mora and his partner Jason Rivera showed courage in the face of imminent danger to protect New Yorkers,” New York Attorney General Letitia James reacted in a statement.
The New York Prosecutor, in the midst of the commotion caused by the death of the two police officers, did not hesitate to assure that “they will be remembered forever for dedicating their lives to making New York a safer and stronger place.
In just 24 days of January they are already counted 7,230 crimes designated as “serious”, which represents an increase of 38.74% compared to 2021, derived from official statistics.
Among the series of communiqués released after learning of this new death in the police ranks, the president of the Police Benevolence Association (PBA) Patrick Lynch, called for a position between “Between the evil and the good people of this city.”
“Police Officer Mora showed us what it means to carry out our mission with courage, skill and humanity. Your sacrifice will guide us as we continue this mission, but we cannot succeed alone. We once again ask the community to join us in supporting our heroes. and continue on behalf of the fallen,” said the union leader.
The fatal news was devastating for circles close to Mora, who had studied at the School of Criminal Justice John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Such is the case of his music teacher Gregory Sheppard who was interviewed by the ABC network: “One day I asked him why do you want to be a police officer? He just said, ‘Teacher, I really want to help people.’
At the close of this edition, reactions from relatives were not known of the police agent killed in the confrontation in Harlem.
Neighbors in Upper Manhattan: “He was an exemplary boy”
When Mora’s death became known, the funeral honors of the young Dominican Jason Rivera, who had barely started his professional career in 2020, were still being prepared. serving the largest police force in the country.
In the surroundings of the Rivera family residence in Inwood, who for decades had come from the Dominican Republic to Upper Manhattan, dozens of candles, flowers, and photographs paid tribute to the fallen officer in the performance of his duties.
the dominican Carmen Sánchez, who has lived in that neighborhood for more than 50 years, He said that since he was a “little boy” of 10 years, he remembered him running with other children through the Dyckman park.
“This is horrible stuff! I haven’t stopped thinking about that mother. I am a grandmother of 18 grandchildren. Jason must be an example for many to ‘get their head’. The only thing he wanted was to help his community, see his people prosper.”, Carmen commented excitedly.
The Merchant Pedro Lopez he also received the news of Rivera’s murder with much confusion.
“I was a witness that he was a boy who from a very young age he liked to work honestly. I had a distribution of ‘flyers’ years ago. When he was barely twelve years old, he worked with me on vacation. His mother gave him permission.
For López, the fact that two officers have been mortally wounded, after answering a 911 call, must be a “misfortune” to review these procedures.
“I think now is the time to check the tactics for officials to knock on a door and attend to a report of this type. Because it is not the first time that it happens that they are received with fire. As a City, the lesson must be learned,” said the Dominican immigrant, a resident of Inwood.
In this sense, the own mother of the 47-year-old subject accused of shooting the two NYPD police officers, and who died Monday from his gunshot wounds, expressed regret for calling 911.
“If I had known, I never would have made the phone call. I would like to tell Mr. and Mrs. [Rivera] I’m so sorry. I know that there are no words with which I can express my feelings about his pain, his sorrow, “he declared. Shirley Sourzes to The New York Post.
Meanwhile, Juana Erder, another neighbor of the deceased officer Rivera, resident in the Nagles Avenue in Upper Manhattan, He expressed “that it still does not fit in his head” that the officer had died in such a tragic circumstance.
“He was very loved, he worked from a very young age. I have mourned him as if he were my family. He was just starting his career. He was happy to be a police officer and to be able to serve others.”, finished.
What is known: A bloody Friday in Harlem
- Wilbert Mora and his partner Jason Rivera were mortally wounded last Friday, allegedly by Lashawn McNeill, 47, after three New York police officers were called to an apartment at 119 West 135th Street in Manhattan for a family dispute, according to the NYPD.
- Rivera died Friday night. He was 22 years old. His wake will be held this Thursday., at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and his funeral will take place on Friday.
- Blackberry passed away this Tuesday in the afternoon after undergoing several surgeries over the weekend.
- McNeil, the alleged killer, was shot by the third officer while trying to flee, after undergoing surgery. also passed away this monday.
- NYPD recovered a high-capacity weapon at the scene and believe it was Illegally purchased in Baltimore.
- According to police, McNeil had been arrested five times before the deadly encounter and was on probation after being convicted of a felony drug offense in New York City in 2003.
- The third officer on the scene he was not shot.
Source-eldiariony.com