NYPD officer shot and killed during struggle with suspect

A New York City police officer grappling with an armed man was killed early Sunday in the Bronx after being shot three times, possibly with his own gun.

The 27-year-old suspect was also killed, after five officers fired at him, police officials said. He was pronounced dead at the scene and has not been publicly identified yet.

The NYPD identified the slain officer as 33-year-old Brian Mulkeen. "We lost a hero this evening," Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference outside Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx.

Mulkeen was patrolling the streets around a city apartment complex at around 12:30 a.m. as part of a unit investigating potential gang activity, Chief of Department Terence Monahan said.

Mulkeen and his partner tried to apprehend a man who had fled questioning, and a struggle on the ground ensued, Monahan said.

As the men wrestled, Mulkeen's body camera recorded him saying, "He's reaching for it! He's reaching for it!" "Officer Mulkeen's gun fired five times," Monahan said. "At this point, it is not clear who fired Officer Mulkeen's gun."