Wounded NYPD officer fights for life; funeral plans announced for partner after Harlem shooting
A memorial grows for rookie New York City Police Officer Jason Rivera
By WABC Staff
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NEW YORK (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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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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