Two New York City police officers were shot and killed in their patrol car on Saturday afternoon, according to the New York Police Department (NYPD).
The two officers were parked in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn when a gunman ambushed them, deputy chief Kim Royster told the New York Times. The two officers were rushed to Woodhull hospital, where one was pronounced dead.
The NYPD scheduled a press conference for 7pm, with Mayor Bill de Blasio due to speak.
Police said the suspect entered a nearby subway station and shot himself. He died from a gunshot wound to the head.
Subway service on the G train was partially suspended following the incident. Police also blocked off the streets where the shooting occurred.
A witness, Derrick Thompson, told the Associated Press the shooting happened across from the Tompkins Houses public housing development.
“I was watching TV, and then I heard the helicopters,” Thompson said. “I walked out, and all of a sudden – this.”
Relations between the NYPD and citizens have been tense in recent months following the death of a civilian, Eric Garner, who was put in an illegal chokehold by an officer.
Last month, a grand jury voted not to indict the officer involved, sparking continuing protests in the city against police violence in that and other incidents. In November, city police fatally shot Akai Gurley, an unarmed black 28-year-old who was walking down a stairwell.
In response to reports about the gunman’s possible motives, the civil rights campaigner the Reverend Al Sharpton, a leading voice in recent protests, issued a statement. He said: “I have spoken to the Garner family and we are outraged by the early reports of the police killed in Brooklyn today.
“The Garner family and I have always stressed that we do not believe that all police are bad, in fact we have stressed that most police are not bad.”
The last NYPD officer fatally shot on duty was Peter J Figoski, who was killed in December 2011.
The New York City public advocate, Letitia James, released a statement in which she said: “My deepest thoughts and prayers are with the families of the police officers killed in the line of duty today.
“Today, the entire city mourns with the NYPD.”
