Two detectives fatally shot in NYC

NEW YORK -- Police said Saturday they believe a felon wanted for domestic violence wrestled away the pistol of a detective trying to arrest him and fatally wounded the 22-year police veteran and his partner in a gunbattle on a quiet street.

Suspect Marlon Legere was struck in the foot and ankle and fled in a carjacked minivan, leaving detectives Robert Parker, 43, and Patrick Rafferty, 39, bleeding to death Friday night in the borough of Brooklyn.

Police tracked Legere, 29, to a second-floor landing several blocks away and arrested him less than two hours after the shooting. He was hospitalized in stable condition on Saturday.

"It appears as if one of the cops' guns was the murder weapon," said Michael Palladino, president of the Detectives' Endowment Association. "In the city of New York, policing is dangerous and risky at all times."

Parker and Rafferty were responding to a domestic violence call from Legere's mother, who said her son was at her home and wanted to take her vehicle, police said. The detectives rushed to the house and found Legere inside the vehicle and boxed it in with their car. Witness statements led detectives to believe a struggle ensued before the shooting, police said.

Parker, a divorced father of a college-age daughter, was a police officer since 1982. Rafferty, a married father of three children, was a 15-year veteran. They were the first New York City Police Department officers to be shot and killed in the line of duty since March.

Legere has served time for assault, sexual abuse and drugs. He was released from prison on the assault charge in March, according to state correction records.

His criminal history includes nine arrests, including one for grand larceny.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.

Gillian Selman, who knew Parker, brought flowers to a makeshift shrine Saturday. Along with flowers and candles, one sign read: "NYPD detectives, your sacrifices kept us safe. God bless you and your families."