A decorated NYPD police officer was shot in the face and killed while responding to a break-in robbery at a Brooklyn apartment on Monday, according to reports.

Peter Figoski, a 22-year veteran cop, took a bullet in the left cheek at close range, according to the New York Daily News. He was shot as he stood at the bottom of a staircase leading from the street to a basement apartment at 25 Pine St. in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn. The shooting took place at 2:15 a.m. and several hours later, according to CBS News, Figoski was pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital.

Figoski, who had been awarded 12 medals and made more than 200 arrests, was part of the back-up team of officers who responded to the building owner's 911 call to report a burglary in progress in the basement.

I'm a father of two myself and having to tell kids of any age what happened to their father or mother is one of the hardest things any mayor has to do, said Mayor Michael Bloomberg at an early Tuesday press conference at Jamaica Hospital with Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

The Daily News reports that the whole situation began after the building owner heard two burglars pounding on a basement door where a 25-year-old tenant lives and then entering the apartment. The two first claimed to be police officers, then demanded money and jewelry and knocking the tenant down. One of the men hit the tenant in the head with a gun.

Figoski and his partner Glenn Estrada soon responded, and unbeknownst to them, the two criminals were hiding in a side room in the tenant's apartment. Moments later, the gunmen ran to escape out of the front door, and that's when the two discovered Figoski.

Lamont Pride, 27, shot Ligoski, and the other gunman fled to the street level where he encountered Estrada. Estrada and the gunman then began to grapple with each other. When Estrada heard the gunshot and saw pride attempting to flee, he stopped what he was doing and chased Pride.

Estrada eventually caught Pride after running several blocks. He was treated for shoulder injuries at Jamaica Hospital.

Police say that Pride's accomplice is still at large.

The Daily News reports that the two stole a watch and $770 in cash from the tenant, who was being treated at Brookdale Hospital for head injuries.

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