Ali Watkins and Ashley Southall

“He reaching for it! He’s reaching for it!” body camera footage recorded Officer Brian Mulkeen shouting, police officials said.

Moments later, Mulkeen was shot at close range and fatally wounded in the Bronx, police said. A .32-caliber pistol was recovered from the man, who was shot dead in the aftermath by five responding officers, police said.

Chief Terence Monahan said Mulkeen, who had been assigned to the Bronx’s anti-crime unit, was restraining the man when the shots were fired.

The officer was struck three times by bullets from his own gun, police said. But police officials said it was not clear who had pulled the trigger. Mulkeen was taken to Jacobi Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The shooting took place about 12:30 a.m. outside the Edenwald Houses in the Bronx, where Mulkeen was patrolling with his partner. The area had seen an increase in gang activity and shootings, Monahan said.

Just after midnight, three police officers attempted to question a man behind the Edenwald complex, police said. The man fled, and officers in the area pursued him on foot.

Mulkeen and his partner were struggling with the man on the ground when Mulkeen yelled that he saw the man reaching for a weapon, Monahan said.

Five officers at the location fired at the man, police said. The man, whom police did not immediately name, was pronounced dead at the scene. It remains unclear if the revolver police said he was carrying was fired during the struggle.

Mulkeen joined the force in January 2013, Monahan said. He lived in Yorktown Heights with his girlfriend, who is also a police officer in the Bronx.

“Brian was a great cop dedicated to keeping this city safe,” Monahan said. “In fact, just last night he arrested a man in possession of a gun in the very same precinct.”

Fordham University said on Twitter that Mulkeen was a graduate of the college who competed in weight-throwing events on the track team while he was a student. Mulkeen competed throughout his undergraduate career, and won a bronze medal at the 2008 Atlantic 10 Indoor Track &amp; Field Championship. He had recently rejoined the team as a volunteer coach, the school said.

The Edenwald section of the Bronx, where Mulkeen was patrolling, was the site of one of the largest gang takedowns in city history in 2016. Police officers, as part of a sweeping federal indictment, arrested 120 people they said were gang members.

Violence in the area has leveled off since then. According to police data, shootings in the 47th Precinct where Mulkeen was killed plummeted last year, but have since increased. There have been 15 shootings in the 47th Precinct so far this year, compared with 10 in 2018.

Mulkeen’s death is the latest in a string of tragedies that have plagued the department this year.

The officer, who joined the force 6 1/2 years ago, is the second New York police officer to be killed on duty this year. In February, Detective Brian Simonsen was shot and killed in a case of friendly fire when he and fellow officers confronted a robbery suspect in Queens.

Since January, nine New York police officers have died by suicide.

Mulkeen is also the second police officer to be killed in the line of duty across the country this weekend. On Friday, Sandeep Dhaliwal, a sheriff’s deputy in Harris County, Texas, was shot and killed while making a traffic stop outside Houston.

This article originally appeared in

Police Officer Is Killed in Bronx Area Struggling With Gang Violence

NEW YORK — After nearly seven years on the job, the 33-year-old New York City police officer knew the danger he faced as he wrestled a fleeing man to the ground just after midnight Sunday.

That included 30,000 customers in Brooklyn — in and around the neighborhoods of Canarsie, Mill Basin and Flatbush — who had their power turned off so Consolidated Edison could make necessary repairs to “prevent a bigger outage,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Twitter.

A spokesman for Con Ed, Bob McGee, said the affected area of the shut-off is bounded by Kings Highway and Ditmas Avenue on the north; Belt Parkway and the Marine Parkway Bridge on the south; East 108th Street on the east; and Flatbush Avenue on the west.

“Con Edison advises customers in the affected areas to switch off or unplug electrical appliances to avoid potential damage to the appliances when power is restored,” the utility company said in the statement.

McGee said that overhead lines supplying the area were in danger of overloading due to the heat, and that the shutdown was meant to prevent damage.

According to its power failure map, many Con Edison customers in Queens and Brooklyn could be without power until Monday morning.

“It is the third day of the heat wave, so the system is really baking at this point,” said Alfonso Quiroz, a spokesman for Con Edison.

This was the second weekend in a row that New Yorkers experienced blackouts. On July 13, a power failure plunged a stretch of the West Side of Manhattan into darkness, affecting some 73,000 customers for about three hours.

“We’ve been through this situation w ConEd time &amp; again &amp; they should have been better prepared — period,” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said in a post on Twitter on Sunday evening. He encouraged New Yorkers to check on their neighbors and said he was deploying 200 state police, 100 generators and 50 light towers to help people affected by outages.

Emily Prevost, 32, who lives in Park Slope, said her power went out Sunday afternoon. It had yet to return by 9:30 p.m. “My AC made this really loud dying sound,” she said. “And then it started chirping like a bird. And it’s still chirping.”

While she waited for the electricity to return, she bought ice cream and tweeted at Con Edison for updates. “It was always a canned response,” she said.

PSEG Long Island had its own power failure Saturday night that left thousands without power in the Rockaways.

By Sunday night, both companies were asking customers in Brooklyn and Queens to limit the use of electrical appliances. Con Edison said it had reduced voltage by 8% in affected areas to protect equipment and maintain service as repairs were made.

“Because the heat is still so heavy today, if customers could alleviate some of the stress to the system, it would help overall,” said Elizabeth Flagler, a PSEG Long Island spokeswoman.

Quiroz said Con Edison had hit “record-high power demand” for a weekend.

De Blasio also said Sunday night that the city had sent emergency crews to aid a nursing home that was using generator power and two adult care facilities that had no power.

Fire officials said the soaring temperatures also may have contributed to a Queens fire that killed a mother and daughter.

With temperatures over 90 degrees Fahrenheit by 8 a.m., about 100 firefighters fought the heat and the flames Sunday morning as a blaze tore through a house in Richmond Hill, Queens, killing a mother and her 7-year-old daughter, and critically injuring the woman’s two teenage sons. Fire Department officials said they were investigating whether the fire was linked to the family’s air conditioner, which neighbors said was located on the first floor.

The police said Silvia Umana, 51, lived in the home with her daughter, Lupe Perez, and two sons, whom neighbors identified as Gilbert, 19, and Gabriel, 15. The younger boy escaped out a second-story window and was rescued by firefighters.

It was a tragic coda to a sweltering heat wave that began Friday, with temperatures that hovered consistently in the mid-90s. In some areas, the heat index was more than a dozen degrees higher.

New York fire officials said they had expanded emergency service crews in anticipation of a surge in calls, and since Friday had responded to more than 230 heat-related incidents, the majority involving older patients.

New York, like much of the country, has been struggling under intense heat, pushing officials in the city to declare a state of emergency. Meteorologists have issued extreme heat advisories stretching from the East Coast through the panhandle of Texas and the Midwest.

Showers and thunderstorms, and with them cooler temperatures, were expected toward the Midwest. In New York, rain — and relief from the heat — was expected Monday.

A handful of New Yorkers did emerge Sunday morning to take advantage of the relatively cooler morning temperatures, with handball and slow-pitch softball games carrying on in Brooklyn. Wilfredo Perez, 29, ran ice cubes across his hands between games at handball courts in Coney Island. “The heat doesn’t bother me,” Perez said. “It actually makes the ball bounce better.”

As the heat wave stretched into a third day, even law enforcement agencies were losing patience. The New York City Police Department said on Twitter that “Sunday has been canceled.”

New York City’s Department of Correction said it had received at least 13 heat-related complaints over the weekend. Latima Johnson, a spokeswoman for the department, was unable to say how high temperatures were inside the city’s jail facilities.

The 311 system, however, had received 162 heat-related complaints about the city’s jails, including 94 on Saturday. William Reda, a 311 spokesman, said the system does not track whether calls come from an inmate or a relative.

As part of its response to extreme temperatures, the city opened hundreds of cooling centers this weekend, including one at the Jacob A. Riis Settlement House, a community center serving Queensbridge Houses residents in Long Island City. It did not draw a huge crowd, but the people who took advantage of it, like the group assembled for a tenants association meeting, were grateful.

One bodega owner lamented his struggle to keep ice in stock, and said he had not figured out how to keep his water bottles cool.

“We stocked up on ice again last night, and after two hours today, we ran out,” said Kenny Cheng, 40, who runs a corner shop called James Market in Manhattan’s Chinatown. “People bought it all up.”

Residents without air conditioning poured into the streets. They queued up in long lines for community swimming pools, played in the water shooting from fire hydrants and sought shade wherever they could find it.

Dream Harris was among the young opportunists.

“Ice-cold water! One dollar!” Dream, 7, shouted Saturday afternoon from the corner of 152nd Street and Morningside Avenue in Harlem. Supervised by her mother, she had made $30 in an hour.

She planned to keep working until she was out of water. At that point, the plan was to dash through the sprinklers in St. Nicholas Park, pick up some more bottles and get back to work.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/21/nyregion/nyc-heat-wave.html" id="7b3b0418-ece5-3c6c-a63c-52b5ab32b760">The New York Times</a>.

While the Heat Scorches, 50,000 Are Without Power

NEW YORK — At least 50,000 customers were without power in New York City and Westchester County on Sunday night as dangerously hot weather gripped the region for a third day, officials said.

Shortly after 8 p.m., Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Twitter that 30,000 customers in Brooklyn would have their power turned off so Consolidated Edison could make necessary repairs to “prevent a bigger outage.”

PSEG Long Island had wrestled with its own power failure Saturday night that left thousands without power in the Rockaways.

By Sunday night, both companies were asking customers across neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens to limit the use of electrical appliances. Con Edison said it had reduced voltage by 8% in affected areas to protect equipment and maintain service as repairs were made.

Heat Wave in New York: More Than 50,000 Con Edison Customers Lose Power

NEW YORK — Almost 50,000 customers were without power in New York City and Westchester County on Sunday night as the third day of dangerously hot weather continued to grip the region, officials said.

Shortly after 8 p.m., Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Twitter that 30,000 customers in Brooklyn — in and around the neighborhoods of Canarsie, Mill Basin and Flatbush — would have their power turned off so Consolidated Edison could make necessary repairs to “prevent a bigger outage.”

McGee said that overhead lines supplying the area were in danger of overloading as a result of the heat, and that the shutdown was meant to prevent damage.

“Because the heat is still so heavy today, if customers could alleviate some of the stress to the system it would help overall,” said Elizabeth Flagler, a PSEG Long Island spokeswoman.

“They always complained about how hot their house was,” said Tiffany Elahie, 14, a friend of the children who lived a few doors away.

It was a tragic coda to a sweltering heat wave that began Friday, with temperatures that hovered consistently in the mid-90s. In some neighborhoods, the heat index was more than a dozen degrees higher.

Halfway up that Northeast corridor, the heat delayed a Greyhound bus traveling Sunday morning to New York from Boston. Matt Joyal, a passenger, said that customers were stuck waiting on the side of the highway for a replacement bus, which he said they were told would take two to three hours to arrive.

As the heat wave stretched into a third day, even law enforcement agencies were losing patience. The New York City Police Department said on Twitter that “Sunday has been canceled,” and in Braintree, Massachusetts, police requested that anyone thinking of committing a crime wait until Monday, when it cooled down.

“We are asking anyone thinking of doing criminal activity to hold off until Monday. It is straight up hot as soccer balls out there,” the Braintree Police Department said in a now-viral Facebook post.

New York City’s Department of Correction said it had received at least 13 heat-related complaints over the weekend. Latima Johnson, a spokeswoman for the department, was unable to say how high temperatures had reached inside the city’s jail facilities.

Glimpses of a more innocent New York surfaced as residents without air conditioning poured into the streets. They queued up in long lines for community swimming pools, played in the water shooting from fire hydrants and sought shade wherever they could find it.

With temperatures more than 90 degrees Fahrenheit by 8 a.m., about 100 firefighters fought the heat and the flames Sunday morning as a blaze tore through a house in Richmond Hill in Queens, killing a mother and her 7-year-old daughter, and critically injuring the woman’s two teenage sons. Fire Department officials said they were investigating whether the fire was linked to the family’s air conditioner, which neighbors said was located on the first floor.

Police said Silvia Umana, 51, lived in the home with her daughter, Lupe Perez, and two sons, whom neighbors identified as Gilbert, 19, and Gabriel, 15. The younger boy escaped out a second-story window and was rescued by firefighters.

Across the five boroughs, many New Yorkers stayed inside — and cranked up air conditioning. But by Sunday night, Consolidated Edison was reporting more than 32,500 customers were without electricity; most of the power failures were in Brooklyn.

Heat Wave in New York: More Than 32,500 Con Edison Customers Lose Power

NEW YORK — More than 32,500 customers were without power in New York City and Westchester as the third day of dangerously hot weather continued to grip the region, officials said. Fire officials said the soaring temperatures also may have contributed to a Queens fire that killed a mother and daughter.

According to its power failure map, Con Edison customers in Gravesend were expected to have power returned by 10 p.m. Sunday. But in Park Slope and Queens, the company estimated residents could be without power until Monday afternoon.

Quiroz said Con Edison had hit “record high-power demand” for a weekend.

A handful of New Yorkers did emerge Sunday morning to take advantage of the relatively cooler morning temperatures, with handball and slow-pitch softball games carrying on in Brooklyn. Wilfredo Perez, 29, ran ice cubes across his hands in between games at handball courts in Coney Island. “The heat doesn’t bother me,” Perez said. “It actually makes the ball bounce better.”

New York’s Department of Correction said it had received at least 13 heat-related complaints over the weekend. Latima Johnson, a spokeswoman for the department, was unable to say how high temperatures had reached inside the city’s jail facilities.

With temperatures over 90 degrees Fahrenheit by 8 a.m., about 100 firefighters fought the heat and the flames Sunday morning as a blaze tore through a house in Richmond Hill in Queens, killing a mother and her 7-year-old daughter, and critically injuring the woman’s two teenage sons. Fire Department officials said they were investigating whether the fire was linked to the family’s air conditioner, which neighbors said was located on the first floor.

Across the five boroughs, many New Yorkers stayed inside — and cranked up air conditioning. But by Sunday night, Consolidated Edison was reporting more than 19,500 customers were without electricity; most of the power failures were in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Gravesend and Park Slope, and Whitestone in Queens.

A handful of New Yorkers did emerge on Sunday morning to take advantage of the relatively cooler morning temperatures, with handball and slow-pitch softball games carrying on in Brooklyn. Wilfredo Perez, 29, ran ice cubes across his hands in between games at handball courts in Coney Island. “The heat doesn’t bother me,” Perez said. “It actually makes the ball bounce better.”

More Than 19,500 Con Edison Customers Lose Power in Third Day of Heat Wave

NEW YORK — More than 19,500 customers were without power in New York City and Westchester as the third day of dangerously hot weather continued to grip the region, officials said. Fire officials said the soaring temperatures also may have contributed to a Queens fire that killed a mother and daughter.

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Ali Watkins and Ashley Southall

Articles written by the author

Police Officer Is Killed in Bronx Area Struggling With Gang Violence

While the Heat Scorches, 50,000 Are Without Power

Heat Wave in New York: More Than 50,000 Con Edison Customers Lose Power

Heat Wave in New York: More Than 50,000 Con Edison Customers Lose Power

Heat Wave in New York: More Than 32,500 Con Edison Customers Lose Power

Heat Wave in New York: More Than 32,500 Con Edison Customers Lose Power

More Than 19,500 Con Edison Customers Lose Power in Third Day of Heat Wave