Gunman kills New York policemen in 'revenge attack'
SUNDAY 21 DECEMBER 2014
A man kills himself after shooting two New York City police officers, having tweeted 'anti-police' comments about the chokehold death of Eric Garner.
A man kills himself after shooting two New York City police officers, having tweeted 'anti-police' comments about the chokehold death of Eric Garner.
The gunman, named by police as Ismaaiyl Brinsley, ambushed two officers in their patrol car outside a housing project in Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon.
He fired through the passenger-side window of a marked patrol car, killing Rafael Ramos, 40, and Wenjian Liu, 32, with shots to the head.
Brinsley then fled on foot pursued followed by other police officers, before taking his own life on a subway platform.
He fired through the passenger-side window of a marked patrol car, killing Rafael Ramos, 40, and Wenjian Liu, 32, with shots to the head.
Brinsley then fled on foot pursued followed by other police officers, before taking his own life on a subway platform.
The shooting follows increased tensions in the US following the death of Eric Garner, who died after police officer Daniel Pantaleo used a chokehold to restrain Mr Garner while trying to arrest him on Statent Island.
Riot tensions
A grand jury decided not to charge Mr Pantaleo after Garner died, sparking US and international protests about the treatment of black suspects by police.
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 Instagram post was followed with hashtags referencing Garner and Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager shot and killed by a white officer in Ferguson, Missouri in August.
Protests over policing tactics have gripped New York since the Garner grand jury decision.
President Barack Obama condemned the killing of the two New York City officers, saying "two brave men won't be going home to their loved ones tonight".
Protests over policing tactics have gripped New York since the Garner grand jury decision.
President Barack Obama condemned the killing of the two New York City officers, saying "two brave men won't be going home to their loved ones tonight".
