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Two NYPD officers were shot and killed on Saturday afternoon, in what NYC Police Commissioner William Bratton called "execution-style." The suspect, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, was later found shot to death in a nearby subway station. VPC
Bulletproof vests lie on each side of an NYPD patrol car as investigators work at the scene where two NYPD officers were shot in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York on Dec. 20, 2014.(Photo: John Minchillo, AP)
One just joined the force two years ago — and got married two months ago. The other had just celebrated his 40th birthday.
A gunman killed two New York police officers as they sat in their squad car Saturday and then turned his weapon on himself, the New York Times reported. Justin Mitchell reports.
Video provided by Reuters Newslook
New York City and the USA as a whole are mourning the deaths of police officers Wenjian Liu and Raphael Ramos, shot dead Saturday in their patrol car a Brooklyn neighborhood.
Liu was a two-year veteran of the force with a new wife. Ramos had just marked his 40th birthday with his wife and their teenage son earlier this month.
"They were, quite simply, assassinated, targeted for their uniform and the responsibility they embraced," an obviously shaken New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said at an evening press conference. "Both were ambushed and murdered."
USA TODAY
2 NYPD officers dead in ambush-style shooting
Bratton and Mayor Bill de Blasio met with the officers' families shortly after the two were gunned down Saturday afternoon.
"With other public servants and leads of this police department, we prayed over the bodies of these two officers," de Blasio said. "I ask that all New Yorkers pray for them, pray for their families. It's a moment of terrible loss and it's a moment when we must all come together to support these families, support healing, and to be thankful that there are heroes among us, like Officer Ramos and Officer Liu."
New York City Police Department Commissioner Bill Bratton speaks to the media during a news conference after two NYPD officers were shot in Brooklyn.(Photo: JOHN TAGGART, EPA)
De Blasio and police officers have clashed in recent weeks over what officers see as the mayor's lack of support for their work. Many officers took offense when de Blasio said it was a "very painful day" for many New Yorkers when a grand jury declined to indict the officer who put Eric Garner into a fatal chokehold, and when the mayor also said racial profiling is a problem among officers.
The New York City Patrolmen's Benevolent Association has been distributing a letter for members who want DiBlasio to stay away from their funeral if they're killed. The association says many politicians have engaged in "police bashing" and failed to properly support officers.
On Twitter, the NYPD Sergeants Benevolent Association said "the blood of 2 executed police officers is on the hands of Mayor de Blasio. May God bless their families and may they rest in peace."
The blood of 2 executed police officers is on the hands of Mayor de Blasio. May God bless their families and may they rest in peace.
— SBA (@SBANYPD) December 21, 2014
Bratton said Liu and Ramos knew the risk they were taking in putting on their uniforms — the very uniforms that made them a target for Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, who police named as the attacker.
USA TODAY
NYPD shooter had 'very strong bias' against police
"There is no more emotional time in the life of a police officer, in policing, than when a death occurs. A death of this nature, an assassination — it's unlike any other type of emotion. It's hard to deal with, hard to get your arms around," Bratton said. "It's going to be a tough time for the men and women of this department … but they will go out and do what we expect of them. That's what cops do. And it's not easy."
USA TODAY
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