A plainclothes New York City police officer died early Sunday after engaging in a shootout in the Bronx in what was reportedly described on police radio as an "ambush."

Brian Mulkeen, 33, served on the force for nearly seven years, Commissioner James P. O’Neill tweeted.

"There is no worse a moment in our profession than this," he wrote. "Pls keep Brian's family & colleagues in your thoughts."

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Law enforcement officials told the New York Post that Mulkeen suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was rushed to nearby Jacobi Hospital. The unidentified suspect was pronounced dead at the scene.

“We lost a hero by every measure, we lost a hero,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

Mulkeen was part of an anti-crime unit in place due to an uptick in gang violence in the area.

Witnesses described hearing the shots and said they spotted the two men lying on the ground at Laconia Avenue and East 229 Street at around 12:30 a.m.

CBS New York reported that officers were heard on police radio reporting from the scene, "ambush, ambush, shots fired, shots fired."

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"At first it was one shot. Then two seconds later it was followed by continuous shots — like, one-two-three-four-five-six. And then I see this car — I think it was a Jeep — drive off,” Pedro Gonzalez, 18, told the Post.