A New York Police Department (NYPD) source confirmed to Fox News the identities of the two suspects involved in the fatal shooting of 31-year-old NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller during a Queens traffic stop.
The suspected shooter, 34-year-old Guy Rivera, has at least four prior arrests, according to the source.
The driver of the vehicle, 41-year-old Lindy Jones, has at least 12 prior arrests. His last arrest was in April 2023 for a loaded firearm, the NYPD source told Fox News.
“Less than a year gun charge,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at a press conference. “He’s back on the streets. April 2023. This is what you call not a crime problem, a recidivist problem. Same bad people doing bad things to good people. Less than a year, he’s back on the streets with another gun.”
NYPD OFFICER SHOT, KILLED DURING CAR STOP IN QUEENS BY SUSPECT WITH MULTIPLE PRIOR ARRESTS: 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 the Far Rockaway, Queens. (New York City Police Department via AP)
No official charges had been announced in Diller’s killing as of Tuesday morning.
NYPD officials said Diller and another officer were conducting a traffic stop on Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway, Queens at approximately 5:48 p.m. Monday as part of the NYPD Critical Response Team because a vehicle with two men, inside was parked at a bus stop illegally.
When officers asked the individuals to step out of the vehicle, the suspect in the passenger’s seat refused and pointed a gun at the officers, according to authorities.
AN NYPD ambulance carrying the remains of Officer Jonathan Diller leaves Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in New York, late Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon)
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Diller was struck in the torso, just below his bullet-resistant vest.
Officials say Diller’s partner then fired at a suspect, striking him in the back. Diller was rushed to Jamaica Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. The NYPD source confirmed that Rivera was shot, and is expected to survive.
Firefighters salute as the ambulance transporting the body of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller exits Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in the Queens borough of New York, Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon)
He had been with the NYPD for three years and had more than 70 arrests, NYPD officials said. He is survived by his wife and their young child, PIX 11 reported.
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The suspected gunman was last released from a New York prison in 2021 after serving 5 years behind bars for criminal possession of a controlled substance, the New York Post reported, citing state records and law enforcement sources. His parole in that case ended last year. He also served a prison term beginning in 2011 over a first-degree assault charge before he was released in 2014, records show.
Diller’s killing is the first on-duty death of an NYPD officer since the early 2022 shootings of officers Wilbert Mora and Jason Rivera while responding to a domestic disturbance call in Harlem.
Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.