Louis J. Balsamo was a New York City police officer who died on December 30, 2013, at age 70 from wounds suffered in a 1975 ambush. On April 18, 1975, he and his partner responded to a shots-fired call at 454 State Street in Brooklyn and went to the building’s roof. A gunman firing from an adjacent building struck Balsamo multiple times in the face, neck, and chest.

He survived the initial attack but underwent emergency surgery that left bullet fragments in his brain stem. Those retained fragments produced long-term medical complications, forced a line-of-duty retirement in 1980, and ultimately were cited as the cause of his death 38 years after the shooting. The shooter continued firing at officers for more than an hour and a half and then killed himself; no arrests were made.

Does anyone have memories of Officer Balsamo, the April 1975 incident, or the 454 State Street area that could add context to this case?