NYPD Officer Killed By Friendly Fire In Queens Robbery, Cops Say

RICHMOND HILL, QUEENS — An NYPD officer who died responding to an armed robbery Tuesday night was shot by a fellow officer as they fired at a suspect with what was later discovered to be a fake gun, officials said.

Det. Brian Simonsen and his sergeant, Matthew Gorman, were both shot just after 6 p.m. Tuesday night after responding to the robbery at a T-mobile store on 120th Street. Simonsen, a 19-year NYPD veteran, later died of the gunshot wound at Jamaica Hospital.

The two officers had started shooting when they saw the suspect, a 27-year-old Brooklyn man, coming towards them with what appeared to be a handgun. Police later recovered an imitation firearm from the scene, Police Commissioner James P. O'Neill said at a press conference later that night.

O'Neill said that despite the friendly-fire, Simonsen's death was at the hands of the suspect, who he described as a "career criminal."

"Make no mistake about it - friendly fire aside - it is because of the actions of the suspect that Detective Simonsen is dead," O'Neill said.

The two officers had been working on a case nearby when they heard the call about the robbery come in over the radio, O'Neill said. Multiple 911 callers had reported a robbery at the store, with at least one saying that two employees had been forced at gunpoint to the back of the store.

When they got there, Simonsen and Gorman didn't see anything through the windows and went inside, where they immediately saw the suspect. The man came towards them pointing the imitation gun and both officers started shooting as they retreated back outside, O'Neill said.

"That was when Detective Simonsen was shot," O'Neill said outside of Jamaica Hospital. "His fellow officers put him in a marked police car and transported him here, where the trauma staff did their best to try to save him. We thank them for that. They were unable to do so, however."

Gorman, an 8-year veteran of the NYPD, was shot once in the leg. A passerby stopped to help him into a car and brought him to the hospital, where he is now in stable condition, he added.

The suspect was also shot multiple times and was taken by ambulance to Booth Memorial Hospital. He is in stable condition.

The incident has created an outpouring of grief and support from fellow NYPD officers and elected officials, according to social media posts. Mayor Bill de Blasio, who visited the hospital that night, said it was a painful night for New York City.

"We will never forget him or his sacrifice," de Blasio said in a Tweet. "We will be there for his family and his fellow officers tonight, tomorrow and every day after that."

O'Neill said Tuesday that the NYPD has been to Jamaica Hospital "all too many times."

"Tonight highlights the incredibly brave actions NYPD members perform each day in the name of fighting crime and keeping people safe in every neighborhood," he said. "This is an absolute tragedy, the worst outcome any police officer, or family of a police officer, could ever imagine."

Photo from Chief Dermont Shea's Twitter.