Funeral for NYPD Officer Adeed Fayaz from Deer Park to be held Thursday, officials say

Thousands of police officers are expected to join the family and friends of Adeed Fayaz, the off-duty NYPD cop who died three days after he was shot in the head during a botched robbery attempt, at a Brooklyn Islamic center on Thursday to mourn the 26-year-old Deer Park resident. 

The funeral service will take place at the Makki Masjid Muslim Community Center in Midwood at 1:15 p.m., the department said, followed by a burial at Pinelawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Farmingdale.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell are expected to address mourners at the service, police officials said.

Fayaz, an immigrant from Pakistan, was  proud he got an opportunity to serve his chosen nation as a police officer, according to Imam Abdul Razzaq Aziz of the Islamic Center of Deer Park, where the slain police officer sometimes worshipped. 

“It’s a tragic loss for everybody, for the Muslim community, for the police department, and of course the Deer Park community,” Razzaq Aziz said. 

Alleged gunman Randy Jones, 38, has been charged with first-degree murder, first-degree robbery and other crimes. He was ordered held without bail during an arraignment in Brooklyn criminal court on Wednesday morning that was attended by scores of NYPD officers. 

An indictment is expected to be announced by Monday, a spokesman for Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. 

Fayaz was married and leaves behind two small children, according to Patrick Lynch, president of the New York Police Benevolent Association, the police union.

“If you're fortunate enough to have children, imagine their father never coming home again. They'll never be OK from this,” Lynch said. 

Fayaz lived about a half mile down the road from the Deer Park mosque, in a house on Grand Boulevard surrounded by a white fence. Mourners placed flowers and candles on the stoop, while an NYPD SUV stood vigil.

NYPD officers in the vehicle said Wednesday none of the family was home.

Fayaz would sometimes attend services at the mosque on Fridays, the main prayer day of the week for Muslims, but not on other days, Aziz said. The mosque has between 300 and 400 families and holds two prayer services on Fridays. Congregants are from countries including Bangladesh, Pakistan and India.

Jones allegedly opened fire on Fayaz and mortally wounded the officer on Saturday after Fayaz and his brother-in-law met with him in East New York to purchase a Honda Pilot that had been advertised on Facebook Marketplace, officials said. 

According to police, Jones asked jokingly if Fayaz and his brother-in-law, who was not identified by police, were carrying a gun.  When the two men said they weren’t armed, Jones suddenly put Fayaz in a headlock, pointed a gun at the officer's head and demanded the money, officials said. 

Fayaz said he didn’t have the money, and Jones pointed his gun at the brother-in-law. Jones opened fire when Fayaz broke free of the headlock, striking the officer in the head, police said. Fayaz’s brother-in-law then removed the officer’s service weapon from his holster and fired at least six times at the fleeing Jones, who drove away in a black BMW.

The key break in the case proved to be a dashcam video in the brother-in-law's vehicle, a TLC car, which captured the license plate of Jones’ vehicle, police said. The dashcam video allowed detectives and members of the regional fugitive task force to track Jones’ BMW to upper Manhattan, according to police.

The car turned out to be registered to Jones’ mother, who lives in Brooklyn, the police said. Surveillance video showed Jones leaving a Manhattan apartment with a woman police described as his girlfriend, along with five children. 

Jones, the woman and the children, ranging in age from 6 months to 11 years, got into an Acura and drove off, Essig said. Computer and video analysis tracked the Acura to the Days Inn in Nanuet, where Jones was taken into custody Monday. The girlfriend was not charged. Police said Jones asked for an attorney and made no statements.

At the 66th Precinct in Brooklyn, where Fayaz used to work, a flag flew at half staff and fellow officers put up funeral bunting at the entrance and other parts of the building.

With Anthony M. DeStefano