The medical examiner determined today that an off-duty police officer who was killed by a fellow officer last night received three bullet wounds, one of which was fatal.

The shooting of housing officer Omar Edwards, 25, happened around 10:30 last night on 125th Street in East Harlem.

Police say Edwards had just finished his shift and was in plain clothes when he saw a man rummaging through his car.

Investigators say Edwards, seen right, struggled with a man identified by sources as 42-year-old Migual Goitia, who also goes by the alias "Miguel Santiago."

After Goitia broke free, Edwards drew his 9mm Smith and Wesson handgun and chased him.

Investigators say a plainclothes anti-crime team in an unmarked car saw Edwards running with his gun out and followed him. One of the plainclothes officers, identified by sources as 30-year-old Andrew Dunton, got out of the car and fired six times.

"I saw the officer apprehending the guy. Then as the patrol car was coming a few seconds later, the officer jumped out of the car," said eyewitness Manuel Cardona. "He tells him something, the black guy decides to take off running, and when the officer turned his back was when I heard shots."

Dunton hit Edwards once in the arm, once in the hip and once in the chest, and the latter shot pierced Edwards's heart and left lung, according to the city medical examiner.

Edwards was not wearing his bulletproof vest. He was pronounced dead at Harlem Hospital.

It is still not clear if any of the officers identified themselves.

Meanwhile, Goitia awaits his arraignment in Manhattan tonight.

Reverend Al Sharpton said today there should be an independent investigation in the matter, possibly even on the federal level.

"Someone other than the local police must investigate what happened here," said Sharpton. "They will say, 'don't jump to conclusions' and we will say, 'don't jump to conclusions.' The question is who is going to be the one that is the fairer way to get to a fair conclusion and I don't think you can ask the Police Department to police itself."

According to police, the man that was allegedly rummaging through Edwards' car is in custody.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the shooting is getting the NYPD's full attention.

"We all looked at security cameras and interviewed witnesses and there were some from a distance," said the mayor. "I was listening to every report and they have a different take on what happened.

Edwards, who was black, joined the force in 2007. He was recently married and has two young children.

Sources told NY1 that Edwards left work early to celebrate his wife's birthday.

His father-in-law is a 19-year veteran of the NYPD.

Police say the officer who fired at him is white and has four years on the force.

Meanwhile, members of a Harlem clergy and community leaders held a vigil outside the housing precinct for Officer Edwards earlier today.

"He was a wonderful, wonderful child from he was small," said Ricardo Edwards, the victim's father. "From he was a baby, he was wonderful."

"His desire was always to either to be a policeman and to play football and he did accomplish both because he plays for the Police Department," said Jerome Harding, Edwards' uncle.

"I remember when he went to the academy and I told him what he was doing was a great job and when he got married a few weeks ago, I congratulated him," said friend Curtis Lucas. "He has two sons and he said he always wanted his sons to be football players just like him."

Neighbors in Ocean Hill, Brooklyn, where Edwards lived, say his parents are coping as best as they can.

"Obviously they're very distraught," said neighbor Dr. Kirt Gonzales. "It's a very small building, so we're all very close to one another because we've all known one another for many, many years. So his mother, I think it was somewhere around 1 o'clock or 1:30, came down and told us the news and she was distraught. My nephew who was very, very close to him is very distraught right now."

"He was a real good guy, man. That shouldn't have happened to him," said Ivory McCormick, another neighbor.

Edwards's family has cancelled another vigil that was scheduled to take place at Wakefield Baptist Church tonight, according to community activist Tony Herbert.

Outside of domestic disputes, this is the first time a police officer has been killed by friendly fire in more than three years.

In January 2006, Alfredo Toro shot Eric Hernandez at a White Castle restaurant in the Bronx.

Hernandez was dazed from a beating he received from six men.

When police arrived on the scene, they saw Hernandez pointing his gun. They ordered him to drop it, and shot him when he did not.