Police Recover Gun In East River, Will Test It For Link To Alleged Cop Killer
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police divers found a gun in the East River early Sunday morning near where an NYPD officer was fatally shot more than four days earlier, authorities said.
A .40-caliber Glock was recovered around 3 a.m. about 20 feet below the river's surface at 123rd Street, NYPD Chief of Detectives William Aubry said.
"It's dark they can maybe only see 12 to 24 inches out in front of them and they're out in their bellies looking for this," Aubry said. "And he ended up finding it and it's a good find"Chief of Manhattan Detectives William Aubry said a police detective in scuba gear found a weapon on the bottom of the river at 3 a.m., a gun police said matches what they are looking for, CBS2's Steve Langford reported.
It was the same area where a magazine was recovered shortly after the shooting, police said.
"That firearm fits the same characteristics as the firearm that we were looking for," Aubry told reporters, including 1010 WINS' Roger Stern and WCBS 880's Marla Diamond.
But the weapon found, believed to have been thrown in the water by the suspect as he tried to flee, is now waterlogged and buffeted by four days of East River currents, CBS2's Steve Langford reported
Police have been looking for the weapon used in the fatal shooting Tuesday night of Officer Randolph Holder in East Harlem. The investigation continued into Sunday morning, with more than 100 officers combing a closed-down section of FDR Drive in search of more evidence, such as bullet fragments or shell casings.
"Members from all over the NYPD have been searching 24/7 for evidence, and I think we have a very good case," Aubry said.
The gun will be tested for DNA evidence. Aubry admitted it might be difficult to find DNA on the gun that would link it to alleged shooter Tyrone Howard because the gun has sat in the river for so long.
PHOTOS: NYPD Officer Killed In East Harlem
Police said officers saw a gunfight Tuesday night from the roof of an East Harlem public housing building. They said Holder and his partner responded to that call when they came upon a man who said he had just been robbed of his bicycle at gunpoint.
Holder and his partner encountered Howard, 30, who then shot Holder in the head, police said. Holder's partner shot Howard in the leg. He fled and was arrested nearby, according to police.
Howard has been charged with murder and robbery. His lawyer has said there are missing details in the case.
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