Accused cop killer LaShawn McNeil came to New York from Maryland in November at the behest of his mom, who allegedly knew he sometimes carried guns — and forbade him from bringing any into her New York home, police sources said.
The mom often asked McNeil, 47, to help her with his disabled brother, Hakim, sources and a neighbor told The Post.
The mom told investigators she knew McNeil, 47, had a history of carrying guns and that she had warned him not to bring any firearms into her home while helping out with his brother, sources said.
The mother didn’t believe McNeil had a weapon in the house when she called police for help Friday night, sources told The Post.
The horrific episode started out as “a normal verbal family dispute with no injuries or anything out of the ordinary,” the police sources added.
NYPD rookie cop Jason Rivera, 22, was shot dead and another officer, Wilbert Mora, who joined the force in 2018, was left clinging to life after being ambushed “suddenly, without warning” by McNeil, authorities charge.
The mom brought McNeil up from Maryland to the Harlem house at the end of November to help with her other son who has a “low mental capacity,” police sources said. Neighbors said the brother struggled to walk, and that the mom often lost her keys, prompting arguments with McNeil.
Officer Mora remained in critical condition at Harlem Hospital early Saturday, an NYPD spokesman said. The wounded cop has a bullet lodged in his brain, police sources told The Post. Cardinal Timothy Dolan was seen leaving the hospital Saturday.
The officers, along with a third cop, went to an apartment at 119 West 135th Street at around 6:15 p.m. after getting a call from the mother about needing help with her son, identified as McNeil.
By the time the officers arrived, the dispute quelled. But based on what mom said officers still wanted to speak to McNeil, the police sources said.
After speaking to the mom, two of the officers were walking down a narrow hallway toward a back bedroom when McNeil allegedly swung the door open and fired, striking both officers, officials said.
When McNeil tried to escape, the third officer opened fire, striking him in the head and arm, police said. McNeil underwent surgery late Friday, authorities said.
A third hero cop who was with Rivera and Mora most likely saved the lives of McNeil’s mother and younger brother, police sources said.
The officer pushed mother and son out of the line of fire during the fierce gun battle inside the Harlem apartment on West 135th Street, the sources said. The hero cop shot McNeil, who on Saturday was believed to have no brain activity and was expected to be pronounced dead, sources said.
Recovered at the scene was a Glock .45 with high-capacity magazine that holds up to 40 additional rounds. The firearm had been reported stolen in Baltimore, the NYPD said.
McNeil is a convicted felon with a lengthy rap sheet who was on probation at the time of the shootings, authorities said.
The officers are the fourth and fifth members of the NYPD to be injured by gunfire so far in 2022.
