NYPD Detective From LI Killed by Friendly Fire During Robbery

An NYPD detective from Long Island was killed by friendly fire during an armed robbery in Queens Tuesday evening.

Det. Brian Simonsen, a 19-year NYPD veteran was killed and a sergeant shot during the robbery at a T-Mobile store at 91-62 120 St. at 6:10 p.m., officials said.

Sgt. Matthew Gorman was wounded as the cops exchanged fire with the alleged robbers, according to Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.

After the tragedy, New York City Police Commissioner James O’Neill spoke Tuesday night. "At this hour I will tell you that this appears to be an absolute tragic case of friendly fire."

Two separate 911 callers reported a robbery in progress. "The callers described the suspect as a male armed with a firearm. At least one of the callers said two employees of the store had been forced at gunpoint to the rear of the store," O'Neill said.

Simonsen, 42, and his sergeant were in the area working on an unrelated case when they heard the call come over the radio. "They did not hesitate," O'Neill said. "They responded immediately."

The officers pulled up to the scene just as patrol units arrived from the 102nd Precinct.

"Through the windows of the store the officers did not see anyone inside," O'Neill said. "The officers then entered the store and immediately saw a man fitting the description of the suspect emerge from the back, pointing at them what appeared to be a handgun. With the suspect advancing toward them the officers discharged their weapons and retreated out of the store. That was when Det. Simonsen was shot."

An "imitation firearm" was recovered at the scene by police, he said.

His fellow officers put him in a marked police car and brought him to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where trauma staff tried their best to save him but were unable to do so, O'Neill said.

Gorman, who has 8.5 years of service with the NYPD, was shot one time in the leg and is in stable condition at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, O'Neill said.

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

The 27-year-old gunman, "and career criminal," he added, was shot multiple times and is in stable condition.

"Tonight highlights the brave actions the NYPD members perform every day in the name of fighting crime and keeping people safe in every neighborhood. This is an absolute tragedy, the worst outcome a police officer, the family of a police officer, could ever imagine," O'Neill said, offering his prayers. "I hope that all New Yorkers understand how difficult of a job that of a NYPD officer is."

"I know too well the uncertainty that every police officer takes into every shift," Adams said in a statement. "May there be justice in the wake of this tragedy, and may we never forget Detective Simonsen."

Long Island is mourning the loss of a hero. Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon said he and the members of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office "stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our brothers and sisters in the NYPD in mourning the loss of Detective Brian Simonsen, who made the ultimate sacrifice while protecting the people of New York City earlier tonight."

"We offer our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the fallen officer — as well as our extended law enforcement family of the NYPD — during this difficult time, and wish a full recovery to the Sergeant," Suffolk County Police said.

According to a post in the Riverhead News Review, Simonsen is a Jamesport native, who was living in Calverton; he graduated from Riverhead High School in 1995, Rogers Williams University in 1999, and the New York Police Department Police Academy in 2000. The post also said that tragically, Simonson's sister Melissa was killed by after being hit by a vehicle in Riverhead in 1992, when she was only 13 — and their father, a local dentist, died soon after.