New York City police officer killed after gunshot to head

An African-American police officer in New York City has died after being shot in the head in a gun battle while pursuing a suspect.

The fatal shooting happened Tuesday while officer Randolph Holder and his colleagues were responding to a call about gunshots fired in Manhattan’s East Harlem neighborhood.

Holder, 33 who joined the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in 2010, was pronounced dead Tuesday night at Harlem hospital, NYPD Commissioner William Bratton said during a press conference.

Witnesses told the officers a man had fled on a foot path and the officers encountered another man who told them an assailant had stolen his bicycle at gunpoint.

Holder was killed during an exchange of gunfire between the suspect and the officers. The suspect was caught several blocks away with a gunshot wound to his leg.

The suspect was taken to the hospital. There’s no report on his condition yet. The officers managed to arrest other suspects who tried to flee the area.

Holder was the fourth NYPD police officer to die in 2015, Bratton said.

So far this year, 102 police officers have died in the line of duty in the United States, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. Of those deaths, 34 were caused by gunfire.