The NYPD detective killed while responding to a robbery in Queens was struck by friendly fire, Police Commissioner James O’Neill said at a press conference Tuesday night.
Detective Brian Simonsen, 42, was fatally shot by a fellow officer while responding to a robbery at a T-Mobile phone store on Atlantic Avenue near 120th Street in Richmond Hill soon after 6 p.m., police said.
A sergeant who responded to the robbery with Simonsen was also shot in the leg during the incident but is expected to recover.
The suspected robber, a 27-year-old with a lengthy rap sheet, was also shot and is in serious condition, authorities said. He was using an imitation gun during the robbery, O’Neill said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and O’Neill met with Simonsen’s mother and wife after the shooting and told reporters the family is distraught.
“The shock that they are feeling was so painful to see,” de Blasio said at the press conference.
Police are investigating the shooting.