The New York City Police Department is reeling after a fourth officer has been killed in the past 11 months.
"That's about as bad as it gets," Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said at a news conference late Tuesday night.
New York City Police Officer Dead in ShootingRandolph Holder, 33, had been on the force for five years, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, who had also been police officers in their native Guyana.
More updates about the case are expected today but Bratton released some details about how Tuesday night's deadly confrontation unfolded. Police radio traffic from the incident sheds some further light on the timing of the events, though authorities have not specifically noted the times of each event.
Officer Holder was one of the officers assigned to the local Housing Bureau precinct who responded to reports of shots being fired "as so many of our officers always do," Bratton said. This call was reported around 102nd Street and First Avenue in East Harlem.
Once on the scene, a man tells officers that he had his bike stolen at gunpoint by a suspect who fled the scene on the bike.
Witnesses then tell the officers that they saw men riding bikes away from the scene and headed north along the FDR Drive.
Multiple gunshots can be heard at this point on recordings of the NYPD radio transmission.
"There was an exchange of gunfire between the male suspect and the two officers. During this exchange, Officer Holder was struck in the head," Bratton said at a news conference.
An officer, believed to be Officer Holder's partner, is heard on the recording screaming that a man in a black jacket with blue pants is headed north on FDR Drive.
The unidentified officer confirms on the NYPD radio recording that an officer is down.
Holder was transported to Harlem Hospital, Bratton said.
The suspect is detained and, according to the scanner traffic, officers "recovered firearm with blood on it and bicycle."
Bratton confirmed that the suspect was apprehended at 124th Street and he "had suffered gunshot wounds to his leg."
Holder is pronounced dead at the hospital, Bratton said.
The investigation carries through the night and Bratton said that the area is going to be considered an active crime scene until the case is closed.
"It covers a very large distance -- the initial incident occurred on 102nd Street and the murder of the officer occurred many blocks away on FDR Drive," Bratton said Tuesday night.
The suspect has been identified as Tyrone Howard, 30, police sources told ABC News
This morning, Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered flags in New York City to be flown at half-staff in honor of the fallen officer.
ABC News' Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
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