Hundreds to Mourn 26-Year-Old NYPD Officer Adeed Fayaz at Brooklyn Funeral

Hundreds of grief-stricken family members, colleagues and friends flooded a Brooklyn mosque Thursday to remember 26-year-old NYPD officer Adeed Fayaz, a married father of two who was shot in a botched robbery last weekend.

Fayaz took a bullet to the head Saturday night when he and his brother-in-law went to buy a car the officer had arranged to purchase on Facebook Marketplace. He was not on duty at the time.

It was a botched robbery, officials have said — and the purported vehicle seller-turned-gunman was arrested at a Days Inn in Rockland County, 50 miles away, earlier this week.

An NYPD detective assigned to the US Marshals Regional Task Force apprehended the suspect, identified as 38-year-old Randy Jones of Manhattan, using handcuffs belonging to the late officer.

Fayaz passed away on Tuesday night. He had been taken off life support earlier in the day. Services got underway Thursday at Makki Masjid Muslim Community Center on Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn’s 66th Precinct, where Fayaz worked. The funeral is expected to follow the viewing at the same location around 1:15 p.m. (We’ll have it live.)

Mayor Eric Adams, who spoke to Fayaz’s family in the aftermath of the shooting, is expected to attend Thursday’s services, as is NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, among others.

The solemn remembrance comes a day after bunting was hung at the 66th Precinct station where Fayaz, a five-year NYPD cop, served. A motorcade escorted the body of the slain officer from the medical examiner’s office in Manhattan to a Brooklyn mosque, while many gathered to pray in Deer Park, Long Island, where Fayaz and his family lived.

His local imam, along with top NYPD officials, described Fayaz as a dedicated police officer and public servant who was “protecting us, always.” But he couldn’t save himself from the apparent setup he walked into in East New York.

According to the investigation, Fayaz arranged to buy a Honda Pilot in Brooklyn for $24,000 on Facebook Marketplace. He initially planned to go to the sale point with his brother-in-law Friday night but that got pushed to Saturday. They rode together in the brother-in-law’s vehicle to Ruby Street by McDonald’s in East New York for the exchange.

The pair were met by a man in a black jacket with a beard and mustache who walked them to a driveway and jokingly asked if either was carrying a gun, officials said. They both said no, at which point officials said Jones put Fayaz in a headlock, demanded the $24,000 and pointed the weapon at the brother-in-law when Fayaz said he didn’t have it.

Fayaz managed to untangle himself from the headlock, Essig said, and the gun went off. Jones allegedly kept firing at the brothers as he ran away. The brother-in-law grabbed Fayaz’s weapon from its holster and fired at least six times. The suspect was not hit and got away from the scene at that point. Fayaz, though, was down.

Jones was extradited to Brooklyn from Rockland County earlier this week and pleaded not guilty to charges including murder at his arraignment Wednesday. He was ordered held without bail. Attorney information for him wasn’t clear.

Investigators are now looking into whether Saturday’s case may be part of a pattern.

The officer is fighting for his life in a Brooklyn hospital, according to Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell and Mayor Eric Adams.