Off-Duty NYPD Officer Suffers Fractured Skull In Violent Attack, Robbed In Bronx

Police said that an off-duty New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer ended up with a fractured skull during a violent attack and robbery in the Bronx.

Police told 4 New York that the incident happened just before 11 a.m. Tuesday when the officer may have been out for a morning jog. He was approached by three individuals, said police. They repeatedly hit him in the head before taking off with his keys, cellphone and wallet. It had multiple debit cards and forms of ID.

The cop was found by fellow officers lying wounded in the street near the intersection of Olmstead and Turnbull avenues in the Unionport neighborhood. He was bleeding from the ear, said police. The victim was taken to Jacobi Medical Center, where he was in a critical condition. He had a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain, police said. A source told New York Daily News that the officer opened his eyes, but "he’s still on a breathing tube."

Sources said that on Tuesday night, Mayor Eric Adams visited the injured officer at the hospital, according to New York Post.

The officer, 48, was not on duty at the time of the alleged attack. Police are looking into whether it might be part of an ongoing robbery pattern. At least 19 other attacks have happened in the Bronx in the last month. Police released photographs of three individuals, who were allegedly involved in the string of nearly 20 robberies throughout the borough. The latest one was against the officer.

After attacking the 18-year NYPD veteran, the three men fled in a black Honda Accord with New York license plates, sources said.

Police Benevolence Association President Pat Lynch said in a statement that while they pray at their injured brother's "bedside tonight, police officers across this city are searching for the cowards who did this to him." He added, "Make no mistake: we will find them." Lynch also attacked the justice system and lawmakers who "refuse to hold criminals accountable." He said that not even a "police officer can walk these streets safely."

At this time, there are no known suspects. A large ongoing investigation is underway.