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Off-duty cop shot in QueensThousands of New York City police officers turned out for a wake Tuesday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral to honor one of the two officers killed in an ambush at a Harlem apartment.
NEW YORK - NYPD Officer Wilbert Mora, 27, was gunned down alongside Officer Jason Rivera, 22, on Jan. 21 by a gunman who opened fire on them in a hallway as they responded to a family dispute.
A funeral service for Mora will take place at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Midtown. The funeral mass was scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 2, at 10 a.m. The services will be livestreamed for the public.
Rivera and Mora were the third and fourth officers shot in the city within 72 hours, and during a two-week stretch that also saw a woman pushed to her death in front of a subway train and an 11-month-old baby critically injured by a stray bullet. Crime has risen in the last few years from record lows but remains well below its early 1990s peak in the nation’s most populous city.
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"Please stand with us again, and keep standing with us," the Police Benevolent Association posted on social media. "Together, we will show that our heroes did not die in vain."
Mora was taken off life support at NYU Langone Medical Center on Tuesday.
Rivera was posthumously promoted to detective first grade.
Both Mora and Rivera grew up in the city’s ethnic enclaves and had hoped to help the department build bridges with the community.
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The public can expect heavier-than-normal traffic in the area around the cathedral, which is located on 5th Avenue between 50th Street and 51st Street, on Tuesday and Wednesday. Authorities were expected to close streets and block sidewalks to accommodate police and other government vehicles plus potentially thousands of police officers expected to attend.
Mora entered the NYPD Police Academy in October 2018. He was assigned to the 32nd Precinct in Harlem in November 2019. Records show he'd made 33 arrests in his brief but impactful career in blue.
"He was a very humble young man. He was always happy, always eager to help any way he could," Officer Keith Hall said Tuesday. "I just grieve for his family. I’m grieving on my own, but I can only imagine what the family’s feeling."
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Services for Rivera were held at St. Patrick's Cathedral last week.
"The losses of Officer Rivera and Officer Mora are felt widely and deeply by all New Yorkers — my thoughts are with their families and loved ones," Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement. "Today we mourn as they are laid to rest, but tomorrow we must work to eradicate the epidemic gun violence has become in our communities."
Flags will be lowered to half-staff from sunrise until sunset on Wednesday, Feb. 2, following Mora's funeral service, according to Hochul's order.
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Funeral services were set this week for NYPD Officer Wilbert Mora, 27. He was gunned down alongside Det. Jason Rivera, 22, in Harlem on Jan. 21 by a gunman who opened fire on them in a hallway as they responded to a family dispute.
A viewing service and a funeral service for Mora will be held at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Midtown. The viewing is set for Tuesday, Feb. 1, 1–8 p.m. The funeral mass is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 2, at 10 a.m. The services will be livestreamed for the public.
Rivera and Mora were the third and fourth officers shot in the city within 72 hours, and during a two-week stretch that also saw a woman pushed to her death in front of a subway train and an 11-month-old baby critically injured by a stray bullet. Crime has risen in the last few years from record lows but remains well below its early 1990s peak in the nation’s most populous city.
"Please stand with us again, and keep standing with us," the Police Benevolent Association posted on social media. "Together, we will show that our heroes did not die in vain."
Mora was taken off life support at NYU Langone Medical Center on Tuesday.
This browser does not support the Video element.
Both Mora and Rivera grew up in the city’s ethnic enclaves and had hoped to help the department build bridges with the community.
Get breaking news alerts in the free FOX5NY News app | Sign up for FOX 5 email newsletters
The public can expect heavier-than-normal traffic in the area around the cathedral, which is located on 5th Avenue between 50th Street and 51st Street, on Tuesday and Wednesday. Authorities were expected to close streets and block sidewalks to accommodate police and other government vehicles plus potentially thousands of police officers expected to attend.
Mora entered the NYPD Police Academy in October 2018. He was assigned to the 32nd Precinct in Harlem in November 2019. Records show he'd made 33 arrests in his brief but impactful career in blue.
This browser does not support the Video element.
"He was a very humble young man. He was always happy, always eager to help any way he could," Officer Keith Hall said Tuesday. "I just grieve for his family. I’m grieving on my own, but I can only imagine what the family’s feeling."
Services for Rivera were held at St. Patrick's Cathedral last week.
"The losses of Officer Rivera and Officer Mora are felt widely and deeply by all New Yorkers — my thoughts are with their families and loved ones," Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement. "Today we mourn as they are laid to rest, but tomorrow we must work to eradicate the epidemic gun violence has become in our communities."
This browser does not support the Video element.
Flags will be lowered to half-staff from sunrise until sunset on Wednesday, Feb. 2, following Mora's funeral service, according to Hochul's order.
Related Coverage
Off-duty cop shot in Queens
Hours before Officer Wilbert Mora would be eulogized at his funeral, a 22-year-old NYPD officer was shot during an attempted carjacking in Queens, said police.
Emotional widow of Det. Rivera recounts day of shooting "it might be the last ride I give you"
The widow of NYPD Det. Jason Rivera, who was gunned down with his partner while responding to a domestic call in Harlem, gave an emotional eulogy Friday and told of the argument they had the day of the shooting.
NYPD Officers Shot: Wake and funeral arrangements
A funeral mass was held Friday at St. Patrick's Cathedral for New York City Police Officer Jason Rivera. Thousands of law enforcement converged along with family, friends and the public to pay their final respects to the married, 22-year-old who was gunned down in Harlem last week.
NYPD hero cop Wilbert Mora saved 5 lives with his organs
Jan. 26, 2022 — New York City Police Officer Wilbert Mora was a hero in death as well as in life. Mora donated these five organs, which saved five lives, according to LiveOnNY.
NYPD officer killed in Harlem joined force to help 'chaotic city'
Jan. 22, 2022 — Police Officer Jason Rivera came from an immigrant family and grew up in a community with strained police relations but joined the NYPD to make a difference in the "chaotic city," he once wrote.
This browser does not support the Video element.