The ex-con whose hand-to-hand struggle with a Bronx cop for the lawman’s gun ended with both men being shot dead early Sunday has been identified by police sources as Antonio Lavance Williams.
When hero Officer Brian Mulkeen caught up to the fleeing purported gangbanger around 12:30 a.m. in NYCHA’s Edenwald Houses, Williams made a desperate grab for Mulkeen’s service weapon, according to authorities.“He’s reaching for it!” were Mulkeen’s last words, caught by his own body-camera, before five shots rang out from his gun.
Rounds struck Mulkeen, 33, in the head, chest and legs, while Williams — who was armed with a .32 caliber revolver — was gunned down by Mulkeen’s brothers in blue, according to police.
Neither man survived.
Williams, 27, was on probation until 2022 for a narcotics arrest from last year, and has a prior burglary conviction from Rockland County, according to officials.
Sources added that he has a total of three prior arrests in the five boroughs: Two for felonies, and one for a misdemeanor.