NYPD Officer Adeed Fayaz dies three days after shooting by oft-arrested gunman in car-sale scam

A five-year NYPD veteran and father of two died Tuesday from a bullet fired during a bungled Brooklyn armed robbery attempt in which the young cop was shot in the head, police said.

Officer Adeed Fayaz was rushed to Brookdale University Hospital after the Saturday evening off-duty shooting and died there Tuesday, officials announced. He joined the department in 2017 and was assigned to Brooklyn’s 66th Precinct.

Family members and fellow officers gathered at his bedside in recent days, praying for a miracle while bracing for the worst. The young cop was listed in critical condition upon arriving at the facility after a car sale scam led to his death, allegedly at the hands of a recidivist criminal.

A family friend on the scene Tuesday said the officer was the father of two sons.

“Great person, great father,” a close friend of the family said at the hospital. “He liked to play around with [the kids] and take them out. Very good father. It’s devastating to imagine his kids growing up without a father.”

Fayaz, 26, was placed into a headlock by suspect Randy “Popper” Jones before the alleged killer began shooting on a secluded street in East New York after luring the off-duty officer to the scene with the promise of a new car for sale, officials said.

The young officer was accompanied by his brother-in-law before the bullets started flying and the suspect fled the scene. The brother-in-law grabbed the gun out of the wounded officer’s holster to fire back at the shooter but missed.

Over 300 officers stood at attention as Fayez’s body was removed from the hospital Tuesday evening.

His wife held their children as his body, wrapped in a NYPD flag, was put into a waiting ambulance.

“Imagine their father never coming home again — they’ll never be okay from this,” Pat Lynch, president of the NYC Police Benevolent Association, said outside the hospital. “It’s our job to help them remember, and New York City police officers will make sure he’s remembered.”

Despite “Herculean” efforts by medical staff, Fayaz’s family made the difficult decision to take him off life support Tuesday afternoon, according to Lynch.

Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell remembered Fayaz as “a father, a husband, a son and a protector of our great city.”

“Our department deeply mourns his passing, and his family and loved ones are in our prayers,” she said in a statement.

“No one has one bad thing to say about him,” said an officer who graduated from the Police Academy with Fayaz. “He’s a great person.”

Retired NYPD Officer Ahmen Nasser, who became friends with the young cop through the Muslim Officers Society, had a message for the killer as he waited at the hospital.

“I hope you rot in hell,” said the 57-year-old Nasser. “What can you say about a police officer? It’s someone who dedicated their life to serve and protect. And he’s family man. A good man. He will be dearly missed.”

The accuser killer was arrested with the late cop’s handcuffs when taken into custody Monday for the cold-blooded killing during the furious exchange of gunfire in an alley where the men were supposed to close a Facebook Marketplace deal on a Honda Pilot. Fayaz’s brother in-law escaped the wild shootout without injury.

“When it hits home, everyone comes together,” said a police officer at the hospital. “It’s always the innocent.”

Fayaz’s neighbors in Deer Park, L.I., were stunned at the shooting.

“It’s terrible. I think it should’ve never happened,” said a 47-year-old neighbor who gave his name as Sean.

“My prayers go out to the family. It’s just a devastation. It’s sad that our cops these days get in these situations.”

With Emma Seiwell and Elizabeth Keogh