New York City Police Department (NYPD) officials have confirmed to Fox News the identities of two suspects involved in the fatal shooting of 31-year-old NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller during a traffic stop in Queens.
Officials said the suspected gunman, 34-year-old Guy Rivera, has been arrested at least four times in the past.
The driver of the car, Lindy Jones, 41, has been arrested at least 12 times. His last arrest was in April 2023 on suspicion of carrying a loaded firearm, New York City police officials told Fox News.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at a press conference that “gun prosecutions are less than a year old.” “He’s back on the streets. April 2023. This is not a crime problem, it’s a recidivism problem. The same bad people doing bad things to good people. He’s back on the street with a gun.”
New York City police officer shoots and kills suspect who had been arrested multiple times during a traffic stop in Queens: Police
NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller was killed in the line of duty on Monday, March 25, 2024, when he was shot during a traffic stop in Far Rockaway, Queens. (New York City Police Department, Associated Press)
As of Tuesday morning, no formal charges had been announced in Diller’s murder.
NYPD officials said Diller and another officer were part of the NYPD Emergency Response Team conducting a traffic stop on Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway, Queens, around 5:48 p.m. Monday. A vehicle carrying two men was illegally parked at a bus stop.
When the officers asked the suspect to exit the vehicle, the suspect, who was in the passenger seat, refused and pointed a gun at the officers, authorities said.
An NYPD ambulance carrying the body of Officer Jonathan Diller leaves Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in New York late Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Gina Moon)
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Diller was shot in the torso, just below his bulletproof vest.
Diller’s partner then fired at the suspect, hitting him in the back, officials said. Diller was rushed to Jamaica Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. New York City police officials confirmed that Rivera was shot, but it is expected that he will survive.
Firefighters salute as an ambulance transports the body of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller from Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens, New York City, Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Gina Moon)
According to NYPD officials, the suspect has been with the NYPD for three years and has arrested more than 70 people. He leaves behind his wife and young child, PIX 11 reports.
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The suspected shooter was last released from a New York prison in 2021 after serving five years for possession of a controlled substance, the New York Post reported, citing state records and law enforcement officials. That’s what it means. His parole in the case ended last year. Records show he served time in prison for first-degree assault starting in 2011 and was released in 2014.
Diller’s killing is the first on-duty death of an NYPD officer since officers Wilbert Mora and Jason Rivera were shot while responding to a domestic disturbance call in Harlem in early 2022. It will be the first time.
FOX News’ Luis Casiano contributed to this report.
