KENSINGTON, Brooklyn — A retired NYPD officer was killed in a shooting Monday night after trying to break up a fight involving an elderly man, according to police.
Police responded to calls for the incident near East Third Street and Church Avenue around 7:15 p.m., official said.
Responding officers arrived to find two men shot, the 57-year-old retired police officer and another man, authorities said.
The former officer was shot in the chest, while the other man had been wounded in the right arm, according to police.
Officials said both men were transported to an area hospital, where the retired officer was pronounced dead.
The Police Benevolent Association, the union representing New York officers, identified him as Thomas Marrinan in a tweet late Monday.
The NYPD said the incident began when a 33-year-old man was involved in a verbal dispute with an 86-year-old man inside a pizzeria in the area.
The retired officer and a retired correction officer, 53, stepped in to aid the 86-year-old, police said.
Things escalated when the 33-year-old man engaged the two retired officers in a physical confrontation, according to officials.
During the struggle, the former correction officer pulled out a firearm and fired one round. The bullet struck both the younger man and the retired NYPD officer.
Marrinan had served as an NYPD transit officer and a PBA delegate, according to the NYPD Transit’s Twitter account.
The unit remembered him as someone who “left a positive and indelible mark during his years of service.”
Police said their investigation was ongoing Tuesday morning.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family and funeral expenses.
Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
