The Latest: Rangers call paralyzed detective who died 'hero'
NEW YORK (AP) The Latest on the death of former police Detective Steven McDonald, who was paralyzed by a teenage gunman's bullet in 1986 but forgave the shooter and became an international voice for peace (all times local):
4:10 p.m.
The New York Rangers are remembering one of their biggest fans, a former police detective who was paralyzed by a teenage gunman's bullet in 1986 but forgave the shooter and became an international voice for peace.
Former New York Police Department Detective Steven McDonald died Tuesday at age 59.
McDonald maintained close ties with the Rangers over the years. The team set up the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award in his name. Every season the team honored him and his family on the ice.
The Rangers have tweeted McDonald was their ''friend'' and ''hero.''
McDonald was shot July 12, 1986. He believed what happened was God's will. He took his message of peace and forgiveness to Israel, Northern Ireland and Bosnia.
New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan calls McDonald ''an icon of mercy and forgiveness.''
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2:50 p.m.
A New York Police Department detective who was paralyzed by a teenage shooter's bullet but publicly forgave the shooter and became an international voice for peace has died. Steven McDonald was 59.
The NYPD says McDonald died Tuesday at a Long Island hospital, where he'd been admitted after a recent heart attack.
McDonald was shot July 12, 1986. A bullet tore into his neck and pierced his spinal column. Doctors thought he'd die.
McDonald believed what happened was God's will, to turn him into a messenger of God's word. On March 1, 1987, he read a statement about his feelings toward the teenager who crippled him and said, ''I forgive him.''
In the years that followed, McDonald became one of the world's foremost pilgrims for peace. He took his message of forgiveness to Israel, Northern Ireland and Bosnia.
