Police continued looking for clues and scouting the crime scene after Ismaaiyl Brinsley, the identified gunman opened fire on two police officers in Brooklyn, New York.
According to CNN, Officer Rafael Ramos and Officer Wenjian Liu were eating lunch in a marked patrol car Saturday afternoon on Tompkins and Myrtle Ave. when they were ambushed by Brinsley who shot multiple rounds through the passenger window. The men were shot in the head and pronounced dead later. Police chief Bill Bratton called the killing an assassination during a press conference Saturday evening. The officers were patrolling for the first time in the precinct due to the high amount of crime.
Brinsley's Instagram account revealed his plans as he called the police "pigs," and connected his plans for murder to the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown.
Friends of Brinsley revealed the 28-year-old was visiting from Baltimore to see his youngest son. Earlier that day he shot his ex-girlfriend in the abdomen before heading to New York. Baltimore Police sent an alert about Brinsley at 2:45 P.M. to the NYPD, just two minutes before he opened fire on Ramos and Wenjian. He then headed to the Myrtle/Willoughby G subway station where he reportedly shot himself in the head.
Awk Smith, a friend and member of rap group P.Y. Gang, says Brinsley was acting strange weeks before the shooting of his girlfriend and the police officers.
"We all noticed he was acting different, it was kind of like he wasn't there when you spoke to him." he said.
Paul Yawney, another member of the group called Brinsley's actions scary.
"He posted motivational stuff on Instagram and went to the protests. I think this really came as a shock to a lot of us," he said. "He shot his girlfriend this morning then went to shoot those cops. It's scary to think that's what he was thinking."
President Obama released a statement about the shootings and honored the police officers.
"Two brave men won't be going home to their loved ones tonight, and for that, there is no justification," the statement reads. "The officers who serve and protect our communities risk their own safety for ours every single day - and they deserve our respect and gratitude every single day."
People have continued to speak out about the act online and in the streets with different outlooks. One witness tells reporters people were happy about the incident with one man chanting, "They deserved it." Another man named Carlos shouted at the cops, "Serves them right because you mistreat people!"
Others have condemned the killings and refuse to connect Brinsley's actions to the recent cop killings of Brown and Garner. Shaniqua Pervis, a witness at the shooting told reporters the shooting only added more fuel to the fire.
"This can't happen. If you mad at somebody, be mad at the person that you are mad at. Now, we have two families that (are) missing somebody for the holidays," she said. "Where is your humanity? I know it's a war going on and shoutout to Eric Garner's family and everybody else who lost somebody, but you're not at his house, on his lawn. This is two (officers). You don't even know if (they were) good or bad. I don't condone this, and I'm not with it."
Source: CNN, Daily Mail
