Aurelia Policiere Suicide, Death – After killing his teacher lover over the weekend, a New York City police officer reportedly turned the pistol on himself in his Woodside, Queens, apartment. Finbarr Mahon, 38, has been a police officer since 1992 and a guns teacher at the police academy’s guns and Tactics Section in Rodman’s Neck, Bronx, for the past six years. He was supposed to report to work yesterday at 7 a.m., but when he didn’t, his colleagues started to worry, the police said. His final day of work was Friday. Aurelia Morales, a fourth-grade teacher at the Bilingual and Bicultural Mini-School in East Harlem, was named as his girlfriend by her coworkers. Ms. Morales’ students will be visited by crisis teams of grief counselors today, according to Department of Education spokesman Keith Kalb. Neighbors claimed the pair had been together for years and that they often took their husky, Alex, on walks.
“He’s a cop, she’s a teacher, they’re both good people,” said Bob Thompson, 78, a retired systems analyst and next-door neighbor. As in, “How could this happen?” As of yesterday, details surrounding the incident were sketchy at best. The police stated there were no previous allegations of abuse at the residence, and the officer’s record showed no disciplinary issues. The police report that Officer Mahon has not been seen since Saturday. It was reported that no suicide note was found. At around 10:15 a.m., officers located the officer and his girlfriend in the bedroom of their residence at 55-05 Woodside Avenue. The police stated they found a.38 caliber pistol next to Officer Mahon’s body and that both victims seemed to have died from gunshot wounds to the head. The identity of the revolver, if it was indeed Officer Mahon’s, was unknown as of yesterday.
Inspector Steven J. Silks, the range’s commanding officer, said that Officer Mahon taught special weapons courses and worked with recruits during the simulation portion of their training, during which officers use role-playing and paintball guns to act out possible encounters the recruits might face on the street. “Super guy, step-up guy, always looking to take on more responsibility,” the inspector said. He was considered a reliable resource. The leadership is taken aback. We don’t know what to say, other that we’re shocked and want to know why. You anticipate seeing him because he is that kind of person.
