Officials say a second New York City officer has died after a gunman ambushed them inside their patrol car before committing suicide.
The shooting took place in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighbourhood. (Google)
The shooting took place Saturday afternoon in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. Both officers were rushed to Woodhull Medical Center, where officials say they were pronounced dead.
The two officials, a senior city official and a law enforcement official, had direct knowledge of the deaths but were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Police say the gunman ran inside a subway station after the shooting and fatally shot himself in the head.
The gunman's motives aren't yet clear.
The shooting comes at a time when police in New York and nationwide are being heavily criticized for their tactics following the chokehold death of Eric Garner, a black man who was stopped by police for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes and could be heard on an amateur video gasping, "I can't breathe" as he was being arrested.
Demonstrators around the country have staged die-ins and other protests since a grand jury decided Dec. 3 not to indict the officer involved in Garner's death, a decision that closely followed a Missouri grand jury's decision not to indict a white officer in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old.
Several New York officers were assaulted during demonstrations that have largely been peaceful, including one that drew thousands to the Brooklyn Bridge.
The president of the police officers union, Patrick Lynch, and Mayor Bill de Blasio have been locked in a public battle over treatment of officers following the decision not to indict the officer in Garner's death. Just days ago, Lynch suggesting police officers sign a petition that demanded the mayor not attend their funerals should they die on the job.
The last shooting death of an NYPD officer came in December 2011, when 22-year veteran Peter Figoski responded to a report of a break-in at a Brooklyn apartment. He was shot in the face and killed by one of the suspects hiding in a side room when officers arrived. The gunman, Lamont Pride, was convicted of murder and sentenced in 2013 to 45 years to life in prison.
