NEW YORK (WCBS 880/AP) — The NYPD is mourning the death of a detective who was shot while responding to a robbery in Queens Tuesday night.
“It's a very difficult, painful night for our city. We lost a very good man, Detective Brian Simonsen,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Police Commissioner James O’Neill said Simonsen, who would have marked 19 years with the NYPD on March 1 and was the elected delegate of the 102nd Precinct Detectives Squad, and his sergeant, Matthew Gorman, were working an unrelated case in the area when they received reports of the robbery.
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Police swarmed to the store at Atlantic Avenue and 121st Street in Richmond Hill around 6:10 p.m. after a 911 caller standing outside reported seeing the suspect, dressed in all black and carrying a duffel bag, take two employees to a back room at gunpoint, according to dramatic dispatch audio.
Simonsen and Gorman were working on another case nearby when the call came over and arrived around the same time as patrol officers, O'Neill said. At first, the front of the store appeared empty, he said.
“They did not hesitate. They responded immediately,” O’Neill said. "Through the windows of the store the officers did not see anyone inside. 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."
O'Neill said as the suspect advanced toward them, the officers discharged their weapons and retreated out of the store. Officials said Wednesday afternoon that 42 shots were fired in 11 seconds between the officers.
"That was when Detective Simonsen was shot," the commissioner said. “At this hour, I will tell you that this appears to be an absolute tragic case of friendly fire."
The gunfire blew out the store's doors, showering the sidewalk with glass. Bullet holes pocked frosted windows decorated with the T-Mobile logo. One bullet struck Simonsen, who was not wearing protective gear, in the chest.
Fellow officers placed Simonsen in a marked police car and rushed him to Jamaica Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
O’Neill noted that Simonsen was a married father of two and that his wife and mother had been in the hospital at the time of his death.
A line of hundreds of officers stretched an entire block outside the hospital to give a final salute to the detective.
At the hospital, officers guarded the emergency room entrance as O'Neill and de Blasio met with Gorman and offered their condolences to Simonsen's wife and mother.
"It was heartbreaking. Absolutely heartbreaking,'' De Blasio said. "His mom, who has suffered so much. His wife. The shock that they're feeling was so painful to see.''
O’Neil blamed the suspected robber for the deadly incident.
“Friendly fire aside, it’s because of the actions of the suspect that Simonsen is dead,” the police commissioner said.
Sgt. Gorman, who has been on the force for eight years, was shot in the leg and is expected to survive. He was taken to the hospital by a passerby in a civilian vehicle.
The suspected gunman is a 27-year-old “career criminal,” according to O’Neill. Multiple reports identify him as Christopher Ransom of Brooklyn. He was also shot multiple times during the robbery and was taken to Booth Memorial Hospital in Queens, where he is listed in stable condition. Investigators are looking into whether Ransom is the same suspect seen on surveillance video robbing a cell phone store on Rockaway Boulevard in January.
Police recovered an imitation firearm at the scene of the robbery. Despite reports that there may be another suspect, O’Neill said he worked alone.
“Tonight highlights the incredibly brave actions NYPD members perform each day in the name of fighting crime and keeping people safe in every neighborhood. This is an absolute tragedy, the worst outcome any police officer, a family of a police officer, could ever imagine," O'Neill said.
De Blasio echoed the police commissioner’s statements saying, “I want to just note how difficult it is for our men and women in uniform to go into a situation like this one, to go into a situation where people's live are in danger, where there's someone with a weapon ready to recklessly use it at any moment and our officers, our detectives, our sergeants go in selflessly to protect others and they know it's a moment where they cannot hesitate.”
Mike Palladino, the president of the Detective Endowment Association, also praised Simonsen for his bravery and noted that he had given his life on a day that he could have been at home with his family.
“He was the kind of fellow that lead by example not by words, lead by his actions. He didn't have to be at work tonight,” Palladino said. “Because he's the delegate in the 102nd Detective Squad and today was the delegates meeting, this morning he was actually excused from duty.”
Down the block from the 102, the Daily News front-page photo of Simonsen has been taped to the window of the grocery store where the detective was a regular customer. Simonsen would start his shift by picking up water or soda and stayed to chat with workers.
"We miss him, we're going to miss him. That's my best friend. All-time, all the time, he come in my store, all times," one worker said.
"He always asking us, 'How's things going?' He was always there for everybody when people need him," another worker said.
The owner of the store closed for an hour Wednesday morning to say prayers for the fallen officer and for his partner.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has directed flags on all state government buildings to fly at half staff in honor of Simonsen.
"I am deeply saddened by the shooting of NYPD Detective Brian Simonsen," Cuomo said. "This tragedy is a heartbreaking reminder of the risks the brave men and women in law enforcement face every day to keep us safe. On behalf of all New Yorkers, I offer my deepest sympathies to Detective Simonsen's loved ones and fellow members of the NYPD."
The last NYPD officer killed in the line of duty was a 12-year veteran and mother of three who was gunned down in 2017 while sitting in a police vehicle.Officer Miosotis Familia, 48, was writing in her notebook when ex-convict Alexander Bonds strode up and shot her through a window. Bonds, who had railed about police and prison officers in a Facebook video months earlier, was fatally shot by officers soon after the attack.In December, a police officer on Staten Island survived being hit by friendly fire as officers responding to a domestic dispute call shot and killed a man carrying a knife.