PHOENIX — Phoenix officer Tyler Moldovan is heading home after recovering from a gunshot wound.
Moldovan was being treated at a rehabilitation facility where he was staying after being released from a Valley hospital.
On December 14, 2021, Moldovan was shot eight times, including the head, while investigating a suspicious person near 19th Avenue and Camelback Road.
Court documents show that Officer Moldovan responded to the area after reports of a vehicle doing donuts and speeding.
"We believe in miracles": Uncle of injured Phoenix officer shares his story
When officers pulled into the lot, they saw a man, later identified by police as 24-year-old Essa Williams, jump the fence into the apartment complex, according to court paperwork.
Officer Moldovan followed Williams and confronted him, asking if he had a weapon. Police say Williams answered "no" before pulling a gun from near his waist and firing at Moldovan.
Doctors told 22-year-old Moldovan, he wasn’t expected to live past December 14, the morning he was shot eight times.
“Miracle Moldovan. That’s what he is,” says his brother, Mathew.
With every hand squeeze and step, recovering at a rehab facility in Colorado, Tyler fought for months for this moment.
“We’re overwhelmed,” says Tyler’s sister, Gabrielle Rogoveanu. “The prayers are what brought him home. It was a very long, long journey.”
“He’s home,” says Mathew. “He’s home and that to us, this is the moment we’ve been anticipating for a long time.”
11:52 a.m. Thursday, Officer Tyler Moldovan touched down in triple-degree heat to a homecoming fit for a hero.
“They mentioned there was a lot of people that wanted to come,” says Rogoveanu. “But not this. We did not expect this.”
The Moldovan Family attesting Tyler’s recovery from a brain and spinal cord injury to something divine.
“He’s been a miracle for us,” Mathew says. “For everybody. He’s showed us that through the Lord, through prayer, that he is a living miracle.”
“It’s been a long road but it’s not done yet but we have faith that it’s going to continue for him to recover,” says Mathew.
Mathew Moldovan is a Valley EMT. “We’re first generation in public safety, my brother and I. We love the job and we know what the job entails and what could be of the job.”
“He’s the sweetest guy with a heart of gold,” Rogoveanu says. “He almost could do no wrong. Like he was the golden child, so he deserved this.”
Phoenix police say now that he is out of the hospital, Officer Moldovan has been taken to another medical facility where he will continue rehabilitation from his injuries.
