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Suffolk County Police officer Michael LaFauci will be released from Stony Brook University Hospital at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 18, the department announced in a statement.
LaFauci was shot Thursday, May 11, while surveilling a home in Coram, located on Homestead Drive near Norfleet Lane, as part of an armed robbery investigation.
The alleged gunman, 20-year-old Jennel Funderburke, of Coram, allegedly fired two shots at the officer during a foot chase, striking him in the right thigh.
Funderburke was arrested shortly after the shooting and has been charged with attempted murder.
Lafauci, a six-year veteran of the department and father of an infant, underwent emergency surgery at Stony Brook University Hospital, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said at a press conference.
On Monday, May 15, the department announced that his condition had been upgraded from serious to fair.
The shooting came three years after Suffolk County Police officers rescued Funderburke and three others from a burning car, Suffolk County PBA President Noel DiGerolamo told reporters outside the courtroom Friday.
“They save his life, only in return for him to attempt to kill one,” he said. “This is what our leaders in Albany have created."
Following the car rescue, police reportedly found illegal drugs and a handgun that belonged to Funderburke, DiGerolamo said.
In court Friday, Funderburke pleaded not guilty to the following charges:
- Attempted aggravated murder
- First-degree robbery
According to Harrison, Funderburke is a member of the Bloods street gang and has had “several contacts with police,” including an arrest for criminal possession of a weapon in August 2022.
Leaving his court appearance on Friday, he told reporters, “Tell (LaFauci) I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”
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