NYPD Cop Shot: Brian Moore In Critical Condition, Demetrius Blackwell Arrested

NYPD officer Brian Moore was shot in the face. Demetrius Blackwell, 35, faces two attempted murder charges for shooting the New York City cop in the face on Saturday. Blackwell reportedly served eight years in prison on the same charges in 2000.

Brian Moore reportedly approached Demetrius Blackwell and his partner on Saturday evening. The NYPD cop was driving an unmarked police cruiser when he reportedly noticed Blackwell “adjusting his waistband suspiciously.”

When the plainclothes 25-year-old NYPD officer spoke with Blackwell, the ex-con allegedly opened fire twice and shot the cop in the face. Officer Erik Jansen radioed for back-up and emergency medical responders for his severely injured partner.

https://youtu.be/a9b0ydrHtJY

NYPD officer Brian Moore reportedly remains in critical, but stable condition. More was reportedly placed in a medically-induced coma to relieve pressure on his brain. New York City police officers chased Demetrius Blackwell both on foot and with department helicopters after he fled the police shooting scene. Blackwell was arrested not far from the attempted murder scene inside a home on the same block where he lived.

Blackwell’s former attempted murder charge stems an armed robbery incident. Blackwell reportedly shot inside a car at a man he had just robbed.

Please continue to keep Officer Moore in your prayers. He was shot on Saturday in #Queens while protecting NYC. pic.twitter.com/7qHcJB8KJF

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) May 4, 2015

New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton held a press conference about the Brian Moore shooting at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. Commissioner Bratton told the media that neither of the officers had the “opportunity to get out [of the car] and return fire.”

Witnesses to the NYPD shooting reportedly pointed the NYPD officers who responded to the call for backup to the direction Blackwell ran. Some of the officers conducted a house-by-house search for the suspect, as others walked the rooftops looking for the alleged shooter.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio also attended the Brian Moore shooting press conference. Mayor de Blasio said the police shooting was a “painful reminder” of the risks law enforcement officers are faced with nationwide on a routine basis.

“Our hearts are with his family, his loved ones. Our hearts are with his extended family, the men and women of the NYPD,” the New York City mayor added.

“He’s still in very serious condition. His colleagues, by the hundreds, and his family members now await vigil, hoping to get some good news,” Pat Lynch, head of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, said. “What we ask is that the public, along with the police officers bow their head and pray—pray not only for Brian, but pray for his family. Just yesterday, they said goodbye to their son, sent him off to work and now they wait in a hospital corridor.”

Brian Moore joined the NYPD in July 2010. The Long Island native was reportedly shot in the cheek.

[Image via: Spence Platt/Getty Images]