FILE- In this Aug. 30, 2004 file photo, New York Police Officer Steven McDonald recites the Pledge of Allegiance before the morning session of the Republican National Convention at Madison Square Garden in New York. On Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, officials said McDonald, who was paralyzed by a bullet and became an international voice for peace after he publicly forgave the gunman, died at the age of 59. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) - Funeral services are set for a New York City police officer known for publicly forgiving a teenage gunman who in 1986 left him paralyzed from the neck down.
Mourners will gather Friday morning at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan to remember Detective Steven McDonald.
McDonald, 59, who suffered a heart attack last week, died at a Long Island hospital on Tuesday. He had remained on the New York Police Department's payroll as a detective until his death, but was best known as an international voice for peace and a source of support for other wounded police officers.
McDonald was on patrol on July 12, 1986, when he spotted bicycle thief Shavod "Buddha" Jones and two other teenagers in Central Park. When he moved to frisk one of them, the 15-year-old Jones shot McDonald three times, with one bullet piercing the officer's spinal column.
About six months later, McDonald made a statement that defined the rest of his life: "I forgive him and hope he can find peace and purpose in his life."
In the years following the shooting, McDonald met with Pope John Paul II and Nelson Mandela, and sat for an interview with Barbara Walters. He also took his message of forgiveness to Israel, Northern Ireland and Bosnia.
After Jones was sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempted murder, McDonald spoke of his hope that the pair would go on speaking tours together to offer a mutual message of peace. But shortly after Jones' release from prison in 1995, he died in a motorcycle accident.
FILE - In this July 5, 2006 file photo, paralyzed New York City police officer Steven McDonald poses with his wife, Patti McDonald at their home in Malverne, N.Y. McDonald, who was paralyzed by a bullet and became an international voice for peace after he publicly forgave the gunman, died Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017 at the age of 59. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
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FILE- In this Aug. 31, 2004 file photo, disabled former New York City police officer Steven McDonald addresses delegates, as family members stand beside him at Madison Square Garden during the Republican National Convention in New York. McDonald, who was paralyzed by a bullet and became an international voice for peace after he publicly forgave the gunman, died Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, at the age of 59. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke, File)
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FILE - In this Oct. 30, 1986 file photo, NYPD Officer Steven McDonald, paralyzed after being shot in Central Park earlier in the year, receives a New York Mets baseball jacket from Mets' president Fred Wilpon, left, in McDonald's room in New York's Bellevue Hospital. They are jointed by then Mayor Ed Koch, second from left, and McDonald's wife Patti. McDonald, who was paralyzed by a bullet and became an international voice for peace after he publicly forgave the gunman, died Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017 at the age of 59. (AP Photo/Mario Suriani, File)
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FILE - In this March 15, 2015 file photo, New York City Detective Steven McDonald, his wife Patti, and son, Conor, smile after receiving the Spirit of Giving Award at the Kelly Cares Foundation's 5th Annual Irish Eyes Gala held at the JW Marriot Essex House in New York. McDonald, who was paralyzed by a bullet and became an international voice for peace after he publicly forgave the gunman, died Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017 at the age of 59. (Photo by Stuart Ramson/Invision for Kelly Cares Foundation/AP Images, File)
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FILE - In this March 1, 1987 file photo, Cardinal John J. O'Connor places a towel on Conor Patrick McDonald, the month-old son of paralyzed officer Steven McDonald, seated in wheelchair, while McDonald's wife Patti smiles during the christening ceremony in New York. McDonald, who was paralyzed by a bullet and became an international voice for peace after he publicly forgave the gunman, died Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, at the age of 59. (AP Photo/David Bookstaver, File)
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FILE - In this Dec. 22, 1987 file photo, New York City Police Officer Steven McDonald, who was shot in the line of duty, is honored on the ice at the Philadelphia Flyers-New York Rangers hockey game in New York's Madison Square Garden with his wife Patti. McDonald, who was paralyzed by a bullet and became an international voice for peace after he publicly forgave the gunman, died Tuesday, Jan 10, 2017 at the age of 59. (AP Photo/Wilbur Funches, File)
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FILE - In this July 11, 1989 file photo, New York police detective Steven McDonald, left, who was paralyzed by a gunman's bullet in Central Park in 1986, poses with his wife Patti Ann and his son, Conor, at a party in New York for their book "The Steven McDonald Story." McDonald, who became an international voice for peace after he publicly forgave the gunman who shot him, died Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, at the age of 59. (AP Photo/Susan Ragan, File)
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FILE - In this Feb. 29, 1988 file photo, paralyzed police officer Steven McDonald receives applause from members of the New York City Police Department as he arrives for funeral services at Seaford, N.Y., for slain officer Edward Byrne. McDonald, who was paralyzed by a bullet and became an international voice for peace after he publicly forgave the gunman, died Tuesday, Jan 10, 2017 at the age of 59. (AP Photo/David Bookstaver, File)
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FILE- In this Jan. 25, 1995 file photo- New York City police officer Steven McDonald talks to students at a junior high school in New York. McDonald, who was paralyzed by a bullet and became an international voice for peace after he publicly forgave the gunman, died Tuesday, Jan 10, 2017 at the age of 59. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
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FILE- In this Dec. 10, 1988 file photo, Heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, right, meets with paralyzed police officer Steven McDonald at the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association Christmas party held at Jimmy Weston's restaurant in New York. McDonald, who was paralyzed by a bullet and became an international voice for peace after he publicly forgave the gunman, died Tuesday, Jan 10, 2017 at the age of 59. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
The Associated Press
Memorial bunting hangs above the doorway to the Central Park Precinct to honor Detective Steven McDonald, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017 in New York. McDonald, who was paralyzed by a teenage gunman's bullet in 1986 but publicly forgave the shooter and became an international voice for peace, died Tuesday at age 59. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
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