N.Y.P.D. Officer Dies After Being Shot in Robbery While Off Duty

A New York City police officer died from his injuries on Tuesday after he was shot while off duty during a robbery attempt as he tried to buy a car in Brooklyn, police officials said.

The officer, Adeed Fayaz, 26, a five-year veteran of the department, had been hospitalized at Brookdale Hospital in Brooklyn for three days since the shooting on Saturday night. Mr. Fayaz, an officer in the 66th precinct in Borough Park, Brooklyn, was married and the father of two young children, officials said.

Randy Jones, 38, of East Harlem, was arrested in connection with the shooting on Monday night and charged with murder and attempted robbery on Tuesday evening.

According to the police, the two men had arranged over Facebook Marketplace to meet so that Mr. Fayaz could purchase a Honda Pilot for $24,000. After Mr. Fayaz arrived at an address in East New York, Brooklyn, at around 6:50 p.m. on Saturday, along with his brother-in-law, Mr. Jones “jokingly” asked the men if they were carrying guns while walking them down a driveway, James Essig, the New York Police Department’s chief of detectives, said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Both men said no, Chief Essig said, and Mr. Jones then pulled Mr. Fayaz into a headlock, pointed a gun to his head and demanded money, he said. When Mr. Fayaz said that he didn’t have any money, Mr. Jones pointed the gun at Mr. Fayaz’s brother-in-law, Chief Essig said, giving the officer a chance to break free of the headlock.

At that point, the gunman fired and struck Mr. Fayaz in the head, Chief Essig said, and fled while continuing to fire at both men.

The brother-in-law was able to grab a firearm off Mr. Fayaz’s hip and fired toward Mr. Jones at least six times as he fled, Chief Essig said.

The incident unfolded in “a matter of seconds,” he said.

Using dashcam video from Mr. Fayaz’s brother-in-law, officers were able to connect the 2011 BMW that Mr. Jones drove away in to his mother, Chief Essig said.

With additional video footage, Mr. Jones was located by officers at a Days Inn in Nanuet, N.Y., on Monday night along with his girlfriend and five children, he said.

When he was arrested, Mr. Jones was cuffed using Mr. Fayaz’s handcuffs, Chief Essig said, adding, “We wanted him to know what he did to that officer, and that officer’s cuffs were on him, and I think it sends a powerful message.”

He said the department is looking into “a few other” Facebook Marketplace robberies — one that happened in January close to where Mr. Fayaz was shot and others in Southeast Queens — to see if there were any connections to Mr. Jones.