Two police officers were shot on Friday after responding to a domestic disturbance call in the New York City neighborhood of Harlem, Mayor Eric Adams confirmed.

One of the officers died, and the other one was "fighting for his life," Adams said.

"Tonight, a 22-year-old son, husband, officer and friend was killed because he did what we asked him to do," Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said during a news conference on Friday.

A suspect was also killed in the shooting, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity to the AP news agency. 

The official added that the police officer who died had joined the job in November 2020, and the injured officer, reportedly 27 years old, joined the job four years ago.

Mayor Adams, a former police officer himself, visited the hospital where officers were taken after the shooting.

In a news conference, Adams said: "It is our city against the killers!"

A domestic disturbance call

A law enforcement official said police received a call shortly after 5 p.m. on Friday evening.

A woman on the phone said she needed help with one of her sons, whom she was fighting with.

Three officers then responded to the situation on the ground floor of an apartment located on 135th Street.

The officers spoke to the mother in the living room, and then two officers headed to another room at the back where her adult son was when shots rang out. Officers asked for ambulances immediately.

New York has seen a spike in violent crimes during the pandemic, which is proving to be an early challenge for the new mayor who was elected for the job in November after putting public safety at the center of his mayoral campaign.

rm, sdi/fb (AFP, Reuters)