NYPD Officer Randolph Holder Shooting: Suspect In Hospital, 3 Others In Police Custody

Update: 1:37 a.m. EDT -- NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton addressed a news conference over the death of NYPD officer Randolph Holder, who was shot dead during a chase in East Harlem. Holder, who was a native of Guyana and was on the job for five years, was taken to Harlem Hospital, where he died late Tuesday.

Holder was reportedly responding to a report of a gunman at the location, when a chase began for an alleged suspect on a bicycle, after which Holder was shot.

A report by NBC New York, cited Bratton as saying that a victim at the site told the officers that a bicycle was stolen at gunpoint. Bratton added that Holder and other officers had come face-to-face with a man on a bicycle on the pedestrian overpass over the FDR Drive at East 120th Street, when gunfire was exchanged.

The suspect, who had gunshot wounds to his leg, reportedly ran north and was caught from 124th Street. He was reportedly taken to Cornell Hospital and will be released into police custody Wednesday. The NBC New York report added that three others are under police custody and are being questioned.

"I extend our deepest condolences to his family," Bratton said, according to NBC News New York, adding: "Especially to his father, who in his time of grief sought to comfort the officers from PSA 5. He was strong enough and brave enough to go in and address them. As they tried to comfort him, he in fact was comforting them."

Mayor Bill de Blasio reportedly said at the news conference: "This whole city is in mourning, mourning a man who gave his life as a guardian for all of us, and we're humbled by Officer Randolph Holder's example, example of service and courage and sacrifice." He also called Holder, who is the fourth officer to be killed while on duty in last 11 months, "an immigrant who wanted to give back to his city and to his country, who had an exemplary record as a police officer, who did everything the right way."

Original story:

An NYPD officer, identified as Randolph Holder, 33, died late Tuesday after being shot in the head by a gunman in East Harlem, New York Daily News (NDNY) reported. Holder, along with other colleagues, was responding to reports of a man with a gun in East Harlem and began to pursue a suspect on a bicycle.

Holder was reportedly taken to Harlem Hospital Center in a critical condition. According to a report by CBS New York, which cited sources, a gun was recovered from the site and at least one person was in custody. Holder reportedly belonged to the NYPD Housing Police Service Area 5 Anti-Crime Unit.

After Holder was shot, other officers reached the site of the shooting and found a man, believed to be a suspect, with a gunshot wound to the leg, NDNY reported. The man, who was found several blocks away from the shooting, was later taken into custody and police officials were trying to determine if he was the suspect or a victim of the incident, officials from NYPD said at a briefing late Tuesday.

The FDR Drive for directions between 120th and 125th streets was closed due to police activity, while authorities warned of further delays and asked the passengers to find alternative routes, CBS New York reported.

“I was on my way home from work and all of a sudden I just saw police cars coming from everywhere,” Moish Levine, one of the people present at the location, said, according to CBS New York.

Police Commissioner William Bratton said in a post on social media that he was at the hospital with Holder.

Pictures were also posted on social media to show the traffic jams on the FDR Drive and the presence of police officials at the site.