NEW YORK ( CNN ) -- A police officer chasing a theft suspect was fatally shot Thursday night by another officer after he failed to drop his weapon when ordered to , authorities said . Officer Omar Edwards , 25 , was not wearing a bulletproof vest and did not fire a shot , authorities say . Authorities said Officer Omar Edwards , 25 , was shot three times . The incident is under investigation . Edwards was in plainclothes and carrying a handgun as he chased the suspect past a police car . Authorities said the officer who shot him said he did n't realize Edwards was a police officer . Edwards had just left the Housing Bureau Station House on East 124th Street , said Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly at a news conference Friday . As Edwards approached his vehicle , he saw a man rummaging through it . Edwards took out his gun -- a Smith and Wesson 9 mm -- and chased the alleged thief , 43-year-old Miguel Santiago , said NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne . Meanwhile , a police cruiser with a sergeant and two officers , including Officer Andrew Dunton , had just turned onto 125th Street from 1st Avenue . Santiago ran in front of the unmarked vehicle as it approached halfway up the block and the vehicle stopped . The officer in the front passenger seat got out of the vehicle and shouted for Edwards to stop running and drop his weapon . According to Kelly , the officers reported that , after the command was given , Edwards turned toward Dunton with his gun in his hand . Watch Commissioner Kelly describe the shooting » . Dunton fired his Glock 9 mm six times , hitting Edwards three of those times -- once in the left arm , once in the left side and once in the back , according to police . Emergency crews responding to the scene found Edwards wearing a police academy T-shirt under his clothes and found his police shield and ID in his front left pants pocket , according to Browne . Edwards , who lived in Brooklyn , was recently married and had two small children , according to CNN affiliate WABC-TV in New York . On Friday , his relatives remembered him as a good person who achieved what he set out to do . `` He was a wonderful , wonderful child from when he was small , '' his father , Ricardo Edwards , told WABC . `` His desire was always to be a policeman and to play football , '' his uncle , Jerome Harding told the New York TV station . `` And he did accomplish both , because he plays for the Police Department . '' Edwards was pronounced dead at Harlem Hospital at 11:21 p.m. Thursday , according to Kelly . `` Tragic accidents like this are another reminder of the dangers our police officers often face as they keep our city the safest big city in the nation , '' Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Friday . `` Rest assured we will find out exactly what happened here , see what we can learn from it so it may never happen again . All the city 's prayers are with Omar Edwards and his family . '' Five eyewitnesses , along with 20 people who reported hearing gunshots , were interviewed by police . The officer who fired the shots has 4½ years ' experience , authorities said . The officers involved have been placed on administrative duties while the shooting is investigated . Police later arrested the alleged thief on suspicion of breaking into Edwards ' car .
Authorities : Omar Edwards , chasing a suspect , was fatally shot by another officer . Comment: Another saw his pursuit , jumped out of unmarked vehicle and fired six shots . Officers placed on administrative duties while shooting is investigated .