The “distorted” career criminal accused of shooting two Manhattan cops, killing one and leaving the other clinging to life, died of his wounds Monday, officials said.
Lashawn McNeil, 47, had been in critical condition since being shot by a third officer after fatally gunning down Finest Jason Rivera, 22, and critically wounding NYPD cop Wilbert Mora, 27, during a domestic disturbance inside his brother’s Harlem apartment Friday.
“I hope he burns in hell,” a veteran cop said of McNeil.
Mayor Eric Adams confirmed McNeil’s death at a press conference on gun violence.
Meanwhile, Officer Mora is still clinging to life, police said.
Asked about Mora, the grim-faced mayor, a former city transit cop, called for “prayers.
“Prayers for the family, prayers for our city that we move in the right direction,” he said.
A high-ranking police source told The Post on Monday that Mora actually got off a round from his service weapon during the rampage. A third cop at the scene, rookie Sumit Sulan, fired two shots. Detectives are now awaiting forensics results to determine which of the bullets struck McNeil, who was hit in the head and arm.
McNeil, who fired at the officers with an illegal Glock handgun, had been declared brain dead after the incident, another cop source said.
Investigators are trying to determine how McNeil also got his hands on a loaded AR-15 found in between the mattress and box spring in the bedroom where he was staying, the high-ranking source said. An initial probe shows the assault rifle was purchased legally in Michigan, the source said.
McNeil’s mother has told The Post that her son, who grew up in Far Rockaway, was mentally ill.
“His mental state is very distorted, and that’s all I can say,” Shirley Sourzes said over the weekend.
The high-ranking source said McNeil had no history as an emotionally disturbed person in the city and that authorities were unaware of any documentation of mental-health issues with him.
The NYPD’s response to the home stemmed from a “run-of-the-mill domestic call,’’ the source said.
Sourzes said her son lived in Baltimore but that she brought him back to New York to care for his older brother, who has a brain tumor.
She spoke to The Post hours before her son died.
She said she regretted ever dialing 911 on Friday when she got into a beef with him and said she blamed herself for the tragedy that followed.
“If I knew, I never would have made the phone call,” she said. “I would never have called!
“I would like to say to Mr. and Mrs. [Rivera] that I am deeply sorry,” she added. “I know that there is not words that I can express.”
Police said the deranged gunman ambushed the cops by opening fire with an illegally modified 9 mm Glock handgun during the incident.
The convicted felon was on probation for a 2003 drug conviction when he shot the cops, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said at a press conference Saturday.
McNeil also had several busts outside of the five boroughs, including a 1998 arrest for gun possession — which was later dismissed — and a 2002 Pennsylvania arrest for assaulting a police officer.
He had two other busts in Pennsylvania the following year for felony and misdemeanor drug charges, records show.
The gun used to shoot the two NYPD cops, which was stolen from Baltimore in 2017, was illegally equipped with a high-capacity magazine that holds an additional 40 rounds.
-Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy
