A vigil is being held Wednesday for slain NYPD Police Officers Jason Rivera, 22, and Wilbert Mora, 27. (Photos: NYPD)
Feb. 1, 2022 By Michael Dorgan
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards is hosting a candlelight vigil Wednesday for the two young police officers who were killed in Manhattan last month while responding to a domestic disturbance.
The vigil will take place at 5:30 p.m. on the steps of the Queens Borough Hall, located at 120-55 Queens Boulevard in Kew Gardens.
Elected officials, community leaders, as well as leadership from the NYPD and its fraternal organizations are expected to attend the event, Richards said.
The vigil will remember Police Officers Jason Rivera, 22, and Wilbert Mora, 27, who were gunned down inside a Harlem apartment on Jan. 21. They were shot by Lashawn McNeil, 47 — a career criminal whose mother had called police for help after arguing with her son.
“The senseless slayings of Detective Rivera and Officer Mora — two public servants who dedicated their careers to inclusive, community-first policing — was a gut-punch felt across New York City, including right here in Queens,” Richards said in a statement Tuesday.
Police Officer Sumit Sulan, pictured, fatally shot Lashawn McNeil during the Jan. 21 incident. (Sulan is pictured in a Jan. 2 tweet by the 32nd Precinct after officers recovered a gun from a domestic dispute call
Richards said the event will also show support for Police Officer Sumit Sulan, a Queens resident who fatally shot McNeil at the scene, according to published reports.
Sulan survived the incident.
Sulan joined the force in April and had been assigned to observe Rivera and Mora during the domestic disturbance call, according to reports.
“We will also show our support for our fellow Queens resident, Officer Sulan, as he copes with this unimaginable tragedy, as well as all our NYPD first responders who bravely put their lives on the line to protect us every single day.”
Richards said that attendees will call for an end to gun violence.
The vigil will be held on the same day that Officer Mora’s funeral takes place at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan. He will then be buried at Calvary Cemetery.
Last week, thousands of police officers lined 5th Avenue for Officer Rivera’s funeral at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Rivera has been posthumously promoted to Detective First-Grade.
Our hearts are heavy this week as we lay @NYPDnews Officers Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora to rest. To honor their sacrifice, join us on the steps of Borough Hall this Wednesday at 5:30 pm, as #Queens pays tribute to these two heroes we senselessly lost in the line of duty. 🕯️ pic.twitter.com/YWlP16xqWn
— Queens Borough President Donovan Richards (@QnsBPRichards) January 31, 2022
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