NY - Off-Duty Officer Who Was Shot Dies

New York City - An off-duty police officer who was shot in a case of mistaken identity by friendly fire, died this afternoon at St. Barnabas Hospital.

An on-duty patrolman shot Eric Hernandez, 24, in each leg and the stomach on Jan. 28, the shooting stemmed from a dispute between Hernandez - who had been drinking and was in street clothes - and several other men at a fast-food restaurant.

After being surrounded and severely beaten, the dazed officer pulled a gun on a man in the restaurant's parking lot before being shot by the patrolman. The shooter, Alfredo Toro, had no way of knowing Hernandez was a police officer and fired only after Hernandez refused orders to drop his weapon.