Bratton: Gunman Who Killed Two NYPD Cops Made 'Anti-Police' Online Posts
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The man who ambushed and killed two NYPD cops in Brooklyn Saturday began his day by shooting his ex-girlfriend and making online posts that were "very anti-police," Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said.
The suspect, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, wrote on an Instagram account: "I'm putting wings on pigs today. They take 1 of ours, let's take 2 of theirs."
He used the hashtags Shootthepolice RIPErivGardner (sic) RIPMikeBrown.
Around 2:47 p.m., police said Brinsley approached the passenger window of a marked police car and opened fire, striking Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu in the head.
The officers were at the corner of Myrtle Avenue and Tompkins Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
"They were, quite simply, assassinated -- targeted for their uniform," Bratton said.
"This may be my final post,'' Brinsley wrote in the Instagram post that included an image of a silver handgun. A silver handgun was recovered at the scene of the shooting, police said.
Another picture showed what appeared to be blood on a pair of jeans and references to Brooklyn, CBS2's Steve Langford reported.
Bratton confirmed that Brinsley made very serious "anti-cop'' statements online but did not get into specifics of the posts. He said they were looking at whether the suspect had attended any rallies or demonstrations.
Two city officials with direct knowledge of the case confirmed the posts to The Associated Press. The officials, a senior city official and a law enforcement official, were not authorized to speak publicly on the topic and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Earlier Saturday, Bratton said, Brinsley went to the home of a former girlfriend in the Baltimore area and shot and wounded her.
Police there said they noticed Brinsley posting to the woman's Instagram account about a threat to New York officers.
"Baltimore County detectives later received information from the victim's mother that Brinsley was posting on the victim's Instagram account," Bratton said.
Bratton said Baltimore authorities sent a wanted flier to the NYPD and other agencies, warning them of Brinsley, but said it was sent around the same time the officers were attacked.
"At approximately 2:45 this afternoon, Baltimore authorities sent a fax," Bratton said. "Unfortunately, it was essentially at the same time our officers were being ambushed and murdered by Brinsley."
The NYPD will be working with Baltimore police to determine a motive and what brought Brinsley to New York City, Bratton said.
Criminal records show Brinsley has a history of arrests on various charges in Georgia, including robbery, shoplifting, carrying a concealed weapon, disorderly conduct and obstruction of a law enforcement officer.
Bratton said his last-known address was Georgia, but he had some ties in Brooklyn.
Bratton said the department's 35,000 officers will soon be getting new technology that would allow the immediate sending of photos and warnings into the field, CBS2's Dave Carlin reported.
The specially outfitted tablets and laptops will go to every officer.
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