A New York City police officer was killed while making an arrest after he was hit with friendly fire from fellow officers.
Brian Mulkeen, 33, was shot twice Sunday by fellow officers while wrestling with an armed suspect.
“This is a tragic case of friendly fire,” Police Commissioner James O’Neill said Monday during a press conference.
The altercation began after officers questioned suspect Antonio Williams around 12:30 in the morning. Mulkeen shouted that the 27-year-old suspect had a gun before the struggle began, in which five officers discharged their guns, killing both Mulkeen and Williams, according to police.
“We lost a hero this evening,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said about Mulkeen at a news conference.
The case marks the second time this year that an NYPD officer has been killed by friendly fire.
NYPD detective Brian Simonsen, 42, was killed earlier this year by crossfire from fellow officers during a response to an armed robbery where a suspect charged police with a fake handgun.
