NEW YORK — A New York Police officer who was shot while on duty over the weekend has died, officials said Monday.
Brian Moore had been in critical condition since Saturday, when he and a fellow officer were shot at while trying to question a man in Queens.
Moore was struck in the head; the other officer was uninjured.
The man accused of the shooting, Demetrius Blackwell, was arrested and charged with first-degree attempted murder. Those charges will likely be upgraded with Moore’s death.
Demetrius Blackwell
“The shooting of Officer Brian Moore over the weekend was a deplorable act of violence that has robbed New York of one of its finest,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. “As a member of the NYPD, Officer Moore put the safety of his fellow New Yorkers before his own, and we will remember his service with gratitude and pride.”
Blackwell, 35, appeared before a judge on Sunday and did not enter a plea.
Moore, 25, and another officer, Erik Jansen, 30, were sitting in an unmarked police vehicle in Queens on Saturday when they saw a passerby adjusting something in his waistband, according to the NYPD.
Officer Brian Moore of the New York City Police Department’s Anti-Crime Unit
Moore, who was driving, pulled up behind the man, later identified as Blackwell, to ask about it. Blackwell allegedly pulled a gun from his waistband and opened fire on both officers, who were in the car and had no chance to fire back.
Blackwell’s attorney, David Bart, told CNN that it wasn’t unusual for no plea to be entered at this stage, saying that in “a case like this, the court rarely asks for one at this time.”
“I don’t think anyone should rush to judgment,” Bart said. “I’m still working and looking into things.”
If convicted, Blackwell faces 15 years to life in prison.
