An off-duty New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer reportedly shot and killed a 30-year-old illegal immigrant after the immigrant pulled a gun on the officer Sunday night, sources said.
Two men on mopeds approached the officer outside a residential building shortly before 10 p.m., NYPD Deputy Chief Eric Pagan, an executive officer of the Patrol Borough of Manhattan North, said in a Sunday press conference. One man stepped off his moped and asked if the officer knew someone’s name and allegedly then displayed a gun. The officer drew his gun and fired multiple times, hitting the man, prompting the second to flee on his moped, Pagan said.
Lahione Soto, an illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic, was the man killed in the incident, anonymous sources told the New York Post. He reportedly crossed the border in El Paso, Texas, last June.
Watch as NYPD executives provide an update on an ongoing investigation in Manhattan. https://t.co/EyEYEgLUTq
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Sources told the Post that the men asked the off-duty officer, “Does Steve live here?” Soto allegedly drew his gun. Seeing the gun, the officer drew his own firearm and shot the illegal three times in the chest, sources said.
Officers retrieved a 9mm firearm at the scene, Pagan said, adding that cops “performed life-saving measures” on the injured man before he was transported to a local hospital and then declared dead. The officer involved was taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening wounds, according to the deputy chief.
Watch as NYPD executives provide an update on an ongoing investigation in Manhattan. https://t.co/EyEYEgLUTq
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Soto and his partner carried out at least three other violent robberies Sunday night in a 13-minute span, sources alleged to the Post. The men allegedly stole jewelry and a moped from four people, a married couple among them, sources said.
“Every day, the men and women of NYPD answer the call to protect and serve, whether they are on or off duty,” Pagan said. “Tonight, we saw that first-hand.”
Pagan said the case is an ongoing investigation. The NYPD and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment by time of publication.