The man who allegedly shot dead one NYPD cop and critically injured another in Harlem on Friday has a long rap sheet and was on probation at the time, according to authorities. Lashawn McNeil, 47, fatally shot officer Jason Rivera, 22, and wounded another officer, while they were responding to a domestic violence call at a Harlem apartment.
McNeil then tried to flee the scene but was shot in the head and arm by a third officer after which he was taken to a hospital in critical condition on Friday night, NYPD Chief of detectives James Essig said at a press conference.
Seasoned Criminal
According to Essig, McNeil, the alleged gunman was on probation for a 2003 felony narcotics conviction in New York City and is a convicted felon. He has been arrested and served time in prison on several occasions before shooting dead Rivera the crime on Friday.
Records show that McNeil was first arrested as long back as in 1988. He was arrested in South Carolina for unlawful possession of arms. However, the matter was later dismissed. In 2002, he was arrested again. Essig said that at that time he had physically assaulted a police officer in Pennsylvania and was charged with battery.
A year later, he was busted again in Pennsylvania for a felony drug charge. Weeks later, he was arrested again on a misdemeanor narcotics charge. Mclain's last known address was in Allentown, Pennsylvania, about 90 miles west of the Big Apple.
Fired Almost Point Blank
On Friday, McLain almost fired point blank at Rivera and another officer. Three officers, according to police, reached McNeil's apartment where he was sitting in the back bedroom. On hearing them enter the apartment, McNeil swung the door open and allegedly fired on rookie officer Rivera and 27-year-old Officer Wilbert Mora, who joined the force in 2018. Rivera was fatally shot while Mora was gravely wounded.
The officers, and a third cop, had been responding to a call for domestic violence from a woman who said she needed help with her son at around 6:15 p.m. The woman "mentioned no injuries and no weapons," said Essig.
When they got to the apartment, the three cops were met by that woman and another son. They were informed that the son she was having issues with was in the back bedroom, down a "very tight" hallway about 30 feet long, Essig said.
It is understood that McNeil was the other son who was so long fighting withy the woman till cops arrived. One of the cops stayed with the family while Rivera and Mora approached the bedroom which is when McNeil swung open the door and fired at the two cops.
"As the perpetrator attempted to exit, he is confronted by our third officer, who fires two rounds striking him in the right arm and the head," Essig said.
McNeil was shot in the head and arm when he tried to flee the scene by the third officer who was with the family in the other room. Police recovered an illegal Glock 45 at the scene, equipped with a "high capacity magazine" that holds an additional 40 rounds, Essig said. The weapon was stolen from Baltimore in 2017. Police are working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to further trace the gun.
