Family of fallen NYPD Officer Adeed Fayaz hosts public prayer service at Muslim Community Center in Brooklyn
NEW YORK -- A prayer service was held Sunday afternoon for NYPD Officer Adeed Fayaz.
Fayaz was laid to rest Thursday after being shot and killed during an attempted robbery while off duty the week before.
CBS2 spoke with the family of the married father of two. They shared more about who he was.
Family, friends, fellow officers and community members gathered at the Muslim Community Center on Coney Island Avenue to pray.
It has been one week since Fayaz, 26, a five-year veteran of the NYPD was shot while off duty in Brooklyn.
His loss is truly starting to sink in. A friend translated for his grief-stricken father.
"I wish my son could come back," he said.
Fayaz's uncle, also an NYPD officer, saw him the day before the shooting happened.
"He had so much ahead of him. He left two kids, 3 and 4. They're asking us, 'Where's the daddy?' I don't know what to tell them. I don't know. They're too young to know, understand this," Mehran Fayaz said.
"His youngest son this morning was going to run to go to his father and the grandfather said, 'Your father is never going to come back,'" Adeed Fayaz's father said.
Adeed Fayaz was born in Pakistan and came to the United States at the age of 5. In middle school, he knew he wanted to become a police officer.
"He was a smart kid. He always loved to help people. He didn't play any sports . His sport was to go help people," his father said.
Adeed Fayaz was up for a promotion to sergeant, but what he really wanted was to work NYPD Aviation as an engineer.
"He did doubles, then went home and studied," Mehran Fayaz said.
An interview for that position was scheduled for this past Thursday. Instead, his funeral was held.
Adeed Fayaz went with his brother-in-law on Feb. 4 to buy a car listed on Facebook Marketplace, but police say the seller allegedly attempted to rob Fayaz and shot him in the head.
Randy Jones, 38, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and attempted robbery.
"We are so sad right now," uncle Muhammad Bilal said.
Adeed Fayaz died Tuesday. His father said that was the day his son was set to close on the house next door to him.
"I wish this crime ... stop this gun violence. Stop, and nobody have to go through what we're going through today," his father said.
"He was an amazing police officer, an even better human being," Meyran Fayaz added.
A prayer service at the precinct Adeed Fayaz worked at will also be held this week.