Detective Steven McDonald, the New York City police officer who was paralysed after being shot in the line of duty and famously forgave his teenage assailant, has died.
He was 59 years of age when he passed away on Tuesday.
A New York police spokesman confirmed that McDonald, who was Catholic, had died at a Long Island hospital four days after suffering a heart attack.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York called McDonald "a prophet, without speaking, of the pro-life cause."
"He showed us," the cardinal said, "that the value of life doesn't depend on physical ability, but on one's heart and soul, both of which he had in abundance."
