NEW YORK—New York Police Department Detective Steven McDonald, who was paralyzed by a teenage gunman’s bullet in 1986 but publicly forgave the shooter and became an international voice for peace, died Tuesday at age 59.
McDonald had been hospitalized Friday on Long Island after suffering a heart attack and died there, the NYPD said.
“No one could have predicted that Steven would touch so many people, in New York and around the world,” police Commissioner James O'Neill said. “Like so many cops, Steven joined the NYPD to make a difference in people’s lives. And he accomplished that every day. He is a model for each of us as we go about our daily lives.”
McDonald was a stocky 29-year-old patrolman on July 12, 1986, when he spotted bicycle thief Shavod Jones and two other teenagers in Central Park. He moved to frisk one of them because he believed he had a weapon in his sock. Then, the 15-year-old Jones pulled out a weapon of his own and shot McDonald three times.
One bullet tore into McDonald’s neck, followed quickly by another to his wrist and a third that lodged behind his right eye. It was the first shot that pierced his spinal column, paralyzing him.
