Suspect Faces String of Charges in Shooting of NYPD Officer in Queens

A self-proclaimed "hellraiser" was arraigned Sunday on charges accusing him of shooting of a New York City police officer as he sat in his unmarked car.

Meanwhile, Brian Moore, the officer who was wounded in the head in Saturday's shooting in Queens, was placed in a medically induced coma. He remains in critical, but stable, condition, officials said.

Demetrius Blackwell, 35, of Queens, appeared in court Sunday in a torn jumpsuit. His hands were cuffed behind his back and his legs were shackled. In addition to first-degree attempted murder, he was charged with first-degree assault and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

The courtroom was packed with NYPD officers, some with tears welling in their eyes.

Blackwell, who did not issue a plea, was ordered held without bail.

He was apprehended after an intensive 90-minute search of the neighborhood after the shooting.

The shooting occurred at about 6:15 p.m. when Moore and his partner, Officer Erik Jansen, slowly drove their car alongside a "person of interest" near the intersection of 212th Street and 104th Road in the Queens Village neighborhood, investigators said.

queens nypd shooting suspect
Demitrius Blackwell, the 35-year-old man suspected of shooting Officer Brian Moore.

Police Commissioner William Bratton said during a news conference that the man the officers approached was "adjusting an object in his waistband." He then turned and fired several times into the unmarked car, he said.

Only Moore was struck by gunfire. Neither officer had time to return fire as the gunman fled on foot, Bratton said. Jansen immediately radioed for assistance, he said.

Police scoured the area and were seen walking on roofs and looking under parked cars as helicopters flew overhead.

Blackwell was arrested in a house on the block where he lives, according to officials. Police searched the house, but haven't found a weapon.

Blackwell has an extensive arrest record, which includes a 2001 conviction for attempted murder, according to state records.

Photos: Funeral Held for NYPD Officer

Assistant District Attorney Peter McCormack said that Blackwell told a detective that he is known in the area as a "hellraiser on the street."

Moore, 25, is a member of a "police family," Bratton said. His father and uncle are retired officers. He lives on Long Island and joined the NYPD in 2010.

The shooting comes less than six months after two NYPD officers were shot and killed in the wake of a grand jury's decision not to indict a police officer in the chokehold death of Eric Garner.

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