Cop sons of hero NYPD detective killed on 9/11 save shooting victim from dying on NYC sidewalk
By Joe Marino, Larry Celona, David Propper,
1 days ago
Courage runs deep in this law enforcement family.
Two cop sons of a hero NYPD detective who was killed on 9/11 saved the life of a shooting victim Thursday night when the pair prevented the man from bleeding out on a Brooklyn sidewalk in a chance encounter between the brothers, police and the proud mother of the two officers said.
Joe Vigiano Jr. and his brother James, who work on different NYPD teams, quickly came to the aid of the wounded 31-year-old man after he was shot multiple times by a masked gunman outside a Cypress Hill bodega at Pitkin and Shepherd Avenues around 10:20 p.m.
James Vigiano (R) with his brother Joe (L). @NYPDdcer/X
Police officer James Vigiano, 30, first arrived to aid the victim with other cops from the 75th precinct.
In a twist of fate, his 31-year-old brother Joe, who works for the NYPD’s elite Emergency Service Unit, arrived just a few minutes later.
The pair, who each served in the Marines, used their combat training to stop the victim’s profuse bleeding, their mother and retired NYPD cop Kathy Vigiano told The Post on Sunday.
“Someone who worked with the boys said that I would be very proud of how they worked together to save this person‘s life,” she said in an interview. “He was lucky that he had the two of them working on him.”
The victim was taken to Brookdale Hospital with a gunshot wound to the back and leg and is expected to survive, the NYPD said.
Joe Vigiano Jr. (C) with his wife, son, his mother, Kathy Vigiano, and his brothers James (R) and John (L) during Joe’s graduation on March 10, 2023. James Messerschmidt for NY Post Joe Vigiano Jr. with his wife and son during his NYPD graduation on March 10, 2023. James Messerschmidt for NY Post (L-R) Joseph Vigiano and his brother, Fire Fighter John Vigiano, both died on 9/11. Copyphoto
The suspect is still on the lam after he fled the scene by racing into a nearby subway station and jumping on a Manhattan-bound C train. He was wearing all black, including a mask, at the time of the shooting, according to cops.
Joe and James’ dad, Joseph Vigiano, was killed on Sept. 11, 2001, at the age of 34 after he was among the first to race into the World Trade Center complex as part of the department’s ESU after terrorists crashed two planes into the skyscrapers.
Their uncle, John, also perished on 9/11 working for the FDNY.
Kathy Vigiano and Joe Vigiano.
Kathy Vigiano also served as a police officer and met her now-late husband at the 75th precinct.
“I’m very proud of them all the time, this is just one more example,” Kathy Vigiano said of their two sons. “Also, I know their father would be beaming with pride when he wasn’t shaking his head and saying that he can’t believe these are his sons.”
Joe Vigiano followed in his father’s footsteps when he joined the department’s ESU last year, graduating to Brooklyn’s Emergency Truck 7 in front of family members.
Kathy Vigiano with her three sons, Joseph, Jimmy, and John, on Oct. 31, 2001. New York Post
James Vigiano said last month ahead of the solemn 23rd anniversary of 9/11 he wanted to be a cop since he could talk.
“I had two dreams: I wanted to be a Marine and I wanted to be a police officer and I’ve done both,” he said.
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