Who is Guy Rivera? Suspected NYPD Shooter had 21 Prior Arrests

A New York police officer was gunned down by a career criminal who had been pulled over for a traffic stop, according to reports.

Officer Jonathan Diller, a married father who had a 1-year-old son, died after he was shot in the stomach during Monday evening's rush hour on Mott Avenue in the Far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens. The bullet lodged underneath his protective vest, leaving him crying out as he called for backup and his partner returned fire shortly before 6 p.m.

The suspected shooter has been identified as Guy Rivera, a 34-year-old who had been arrested 21 times, the New York Post reported. The vehicle's other occupant, the driver of the car, was named as 41-year-old Lindy Jones, who had 12 known prior arrests, according to Fox News. Neither man has been charged in connection with the shooting and investigation continues.

It is the first time a police officer has been killed in the line of duty in New York since the 2022 shootings of officers Wilbert Mora and Jason Rivera, who were killed in an ambush while responding to a domestic disturbance call in Harlem. And the death comes less than two years since Indiana police Officer Seara Burton was shot during a traffic stop in August 2022, leaving her heartbroken family with the gut-wrenching decision to turn off her life support in hospital a month later.

Rivera was released from a New York prison in 2021 after serving five years for criminal possession of a controlled substance, according to state records. He also served time in 2011 for first-degree assault and was released in 2014.

He was being driven by Jones, who also had a string of arrests to his name, most recently for possessing a loaded firearm in April 2023.

"Less than a year, he's back on the streets with another gun," New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at a press conference.

Adams paid tribute to the fallen officer during the briefing and added: "It is the good guys against the bad guys, and these bad guys are violent, they carry guns, and the symbol of our public safety—which is their police uniform—they have a total disregard for."

Witness Deon Peters told the New York Post that Diller tried to call for help, even as he lay dying.

"He was moving, he was saying, 'I'm hit, I'm hit!' Giving location and all that," Peters said. "Like he was crying, like he was really crying."

An NYPD spokesperson declined to give the identity of the prime suspect when questioned by Newsweek but emailed a statement saying: "On Monday, March 25, 2024, at approximately 1748 hours, in the vicinity of 19-19 Mott Avenue, within the confines of the 101 Precinct, officers from the Patrol Borough Queens South Community Response Team conducted a car stop.

"One male exited the vehicle with a firearm and discharged it at the officers. Officers returned fire.

"One of the officers was shot in the abdomen area and was transported to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries. The second officer was not injured and was transported to a local area hospital for Tinnitus.

"The officers were able to strike one of the males in the back. The male was transported to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in stable condition. The second male was immediately taken into custody. Charges are pending, and the NYPD's Force Investigation Division is investigating this incident."

NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban wrote on social media site X, formerly Twitter, on Monday: "Tonight this city lost a hero, a wife lost her husband, and a young child lost their father. We struggle to find the words to express the tragedy of losing one of our own. The work that Police Officer Jonathan Diller did each day to make this city a safer place will NEVER be forgotten. Our prayers are with his family, loved ones, and brothers and sisters in blue."

The incident comes amid a spate of gun crime across the nation that sparked a fierce debate about gun control, left politicians unable to answer how to address the problem, and led to multiple countries issuing warnings to their citizens considering traveling to the U.S.

The Gun Violence Archive, a database that collects information about shootings across the country, has calculated that 3,735 people have died after being shot so far in 2024, just three months into the year, a figure that includes accidental deaths.

Update 3/26/24, 11 a.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.