The family of one of the slain police officers thanked the community for their “sympathy and support” on Sunday (December 21) evening at a news conference in the Cypress Hills neighbor of Brooklyn where two New York City police officers were killed after a gunman ambushed them in their car.
“I hope and pray that we can reflect on this tragic loss of life that has occurred so we can move forward and find an amicable path for a peaceful coexistence.” said Rafael Ramos’ aunt Lucy Ramos said.
The two men were attacked outside a housing project in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn at a tense time for the NYPD, the largest police force in the country.
The gunman shot dead , Rafael Ramos, 40, and Wenjian Liu, 32 before killing himself, police said. They added a social media post indicated he may having been seeking revenge for the death of an unarmed black man during an arrest attempt.
Protests over policing tactics have roiled the city since a grand jury declined this month to indict a white NYPD officer in the killing of Eric Garner, a black man who died after being placed in a chokehold during a July arrest on Staten Island.
The shooter fired through the passenger-side window of their marked patrol car, striking both officers in the head before they had a chance to respond, Bratton said. The suspect fled on foot, followed by other police, then took his own life on a subway platform.
President Barack Obama condemned the killings, saying “two brave men won’t be going home to their loved ones tonight.” Attorney GeneralEric Holder promised the support of the Justice Department throughout the investigation.
NYPD Police Commissioner William Bratton said the gunman, identified as Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, had made “anti-police” comments online. Shortly before the double shooting, a message on an Instagram account apparently belonging to Brinsley said “They Take 1 Of Ours … Let’s Take 2 of Theirs.”
The posting was followed with hashtags referencing Garner andMichael Brown, an unarmed black teenager shot and killed by a white officer in Ferguson, Missouri in August.
Bratton said investigators were checking whether Brinsley had attended any of the recent protests.
The killings also revealed bitter anger among some police toward New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who they see as not being supportive in the face of public anger.
Several officers turned their backs on de Blasio when he arrived at theBrooklyn hospital where the two officers were taken after they were shot, video showed.
It was unclear why the gunman chose Brooklyn.
Authorities said Brinsley, who previously lived in Georgia, had shot and wounded his girlfriend in Baltimore early Saturday morning before heading north to New York City.
Baltimore County Police said in a news release officers had learned of the Instagram threat and contacted the NYPD by telephone about 30 minutes before the shooting, following that warning with a faxed photo of the Brinsley.
Reuters/ NBC / NEW YORK POLICE HANDOUT
