A violent ex-con on parole shot and wounded an NYPD cop in a four-hour standoff with police at a Lower East Side public housing project early Tuesday morning, officials said.

The NYPD Emergency Services Unit descended on the Vladeck Houses complex shortly after 5 a.m. to serve a search warrant — only to find that the suspect, identified as 34-year-old Edwin Rivera, barricaded himself in the apartment, police said.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Rivera shot one of New York’s Finest in the shoulder during the standoff before he was also wounded and taken into custody shortly before 9 a.m.

The wounded officer, who was not identified, was taken to Bellevue Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

At a press briefing at the hospital, Tisch described Rivera as “a career criminal, convicted felon with multiple priors for gun possession and narcotics.

“He has been on parole four times and he is actually on parole today,” the commissioner said. “And I want to be very clear that today is not the only time that Mr. Rivera has been arrested while out on his parole. 

“He was previously arrested on Nov. 6, 2024, for criminal possession of stolen property and resisting arrest,” Tisch said. “The Manhattan DA only charged him with resisting arrest and so, sadly and predictably and, although he was on active parole, he was released the very next day.”

State prison records show that Rivera was released from the Queensboro Correctional Facility in April 2023 after serving nearly four years on a felony drug conviction. 

His rap sheet includes a slew of prior drug and gun busts dating to 2009 and, most recently, the Manhattan bust in November.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters that cops arrived at the housing complex at 5:04 a.m. Tuesday when several shots were fired through the door.

Police said one bullet hit a bullet-proof shield, but the cops did not return fire and pulled back from the door. 

“They don’t fire back because they don’t know exactly what’s going on in the apartment,” Kenny said. “They reposition themselves and then they decide to make reentry again.

“This time the officer is shot in the left shoulder.”

Police said Rivera used a couch to block the doorway after the initial confrontation with the cops, who tried to negotiate with him until he cut off communication. 

The ESU team made their second attempt to get inside at 8:18 a.m., when the wounded cop was hit.

This time, police fired back and wounded Rivera, then took him into custody, officials said.

Kenny said Rivera was “shot multiple times” on the left side of his body, but his injuries were not considered life-threatening.

Mayor Eric Adams told reporters he was angry over the incident.

“We’re angry because the shooter is a violent, repeat offender with prior gun arrests who was on parole for narcotics use and sales,” he said. “We’re angry that this man is back on our streets, possesses another firearm and ultimately shoots an NYPD officer.”

Scott Munro, president of the NYPD Detectives’ Endowment Association, said he was grateful the injured cop will be returning home to his family. 

“Today New York City and the NYPD are extremely fortunate that we are not planning a funeral for our hero detective who got shot and injured in the line of duty,” Munro said.

“This incident underscores the dangers faced by the NYPD detectives.”

According to a complaint, the Manhattan arrest in November stemmed from the alleged theft of an electric scooter on Oct. 26.

Rivera was allegedly caught wheeling the scooter out of his apartment — and scuffled with cops when questioned.

In a statement Tuesday, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said the arrest for resisting arrest was not eligible for bail under the state’s criminal justice reforms — even if a second charge of possession of stolen property was tacked on.

“Today’s shooting is another sobering reminder of how members of the NYPD put themselves in danger to keep us all safe,” Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg said in a statement. 

“I am grateful that this detective is expected to make a full recovery and thank him for his continued service to the city,” Bragg said.

Meanwhile, tenants at the apartment complex said the incident is indicative of problems in the building. 

“People were outside, terrified, because everyone who lived on the sixth floor where the shooting happened were forced outside,” resident Tamara Velasquez told The Post. 

“We have over 30 apartments that are empty and we the tenants have been fighting, not only with management but with the city because we have crackheads and drug dealers moving into these apartments,” Velasquez said. “You’re putting people in danger.”

Magda Napoleon, a Democratic District Leader in the area, said Rivera is not a tenant at the complex, but one of several problematic squatters there.

“Apparently this guy didn’t live here — he was just ‘staying’ here,” Napoleon said. “There’s a big quality of life issue here involving squatters, and it seems like everyone has their hands tied on removing these people in a timely fashion.”

Additional reporting by Georgett Roberts