New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, speaking at a press conference Saturday night, confirmed the identity of the shooter as 28-year-old Ismaaiyl Brinsley.
He identified the two slain cops as partners Wenjian Liu and Raphael Ramos.
Brinsley posted a sinister message on Instagram earlier Saturday along with an image of a silver handgun and hashtags invoking the names of Michael Brown and Eric Garner after reportedly shooting and wounding a former girlfriend in Baltimore.
According to Baltimore police, Brinsley shot and wounded a former girlfriend there around 5:45 a.m. Saturday before traveling to Brooklyn, Bratton said. The woman's mother contacted Baltimore police after she noticed Brinsley's comments on Instagram.
Baltimore police faxed a bulletin describing Brinsley to NYPD headquarters that arrived at 2:45 p.m., Bratton said, at almost the exact moment Brinsley opened fire on Liu and Ramos. Bratton said the ambush was at 2:47 p.m. in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.
Bratton said according to a witness, Brinsley took a shooting stance on the passenger side of the police cruiser and fired several times striking both officers in the head. The pair, he said, never had the chance to draw their own weapons and may never have seen their assailant.
“Both officers paid the ultimate sacrifice today,” Bratton said.
Brinsley posted a sinister message on Instagram earlier Saturday along with an image of a silver handgun and hashtags invoking the names of Michael Brown and Eric Garner after reportedly shooting and wounding a former girlfriend in Baltimore.
According to Baltimore police, Brinsley shot and wounded a former girlfriend there around 5:45 a.m. Saturday before traveling to Brooklyn, Bratton said. The woman's mother contacted Baltimore police after she noticed Brinsley's comments on Instagram.
Baltimore police faxed a bulletin describing Brinsley to NYPD headquarters that arrived at 2:45 p.m., Bratton said, at almost the exact moment Brinsley opened fire on Liu and Ramos. Bratton said the ambush was at 2:47 p.m. in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.
Bratton said according to a witness, Brinsley took a shooting stance on the passenger side of the police cruiser and fired several times striking both officers in the head. The pair, he said, never had the chance to draw their own weapons and may never have seen their assailant.
“Both officers paid the ultimate sacrifice today,” Bratton said.
