A New York City police officer was shot and killed in an “unprovoked attack” as she was sitting inside a police vehicle early Wednesday morning, authorities said.
Officer Miosotis Familia was sitting inside a New York Police command vehicle with her partner when she was shot and killed, police said. The deadly shooting – which the city’s police commissioner labeled an “assassination” – happened at 12:30 a.m. at an intersection in the Bronx.
Familia, a 12-year NYPD veteran, was initially reported in extremely critical condition. But Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill announced on Twitter several hours later that Familia had died.
#NYPD PO Miosotis Familia has been assassinated in an unprovoked attack on cops assigned to keep NYers safe. Keep her family in your prayers
– Commissioner O’Neill (@NYPDONeill) July 5, 2017
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“Based on what we know right now, this was an unprovoked attack against police officers who work to keep this great city safe,” O’Neill said at a news conference early Wednesday morning. Familia’s partner was not injured in the attack.
Familia was wrapping up her shift when the gunman fired a shot through the window and struck her in the head, the Associated Press reported.
Police said Familia’s partner immediately called for help.
Officers confronted the suspect about a block away from the scene of the shooting. The gunman was shot and killed after he drew a silver revolver, police said. He was identified by the authorities as 34-year-old Alexander Bonds.
A bystander was shot during that encounter. Police said that person is in stable condition.
It remains unclear what prompted the attack, officials said. Bonds had been on parole for a robbery case in Syracuse, according to the AP.
Woke to the terrible news that Officer Miosotis Familia was shot & killed in the Bronx overnight. God bless her family & the NYPD.
– Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) July 5, 2017
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At least 65 law enforcement officers had been killed in the United States through July 4, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, a nonprofit group that monitors line-of-duty deaths – a 25 percent increase over the same period last year.
In 2016, law enforcement fatalities spiked to their highest level in five years, with 135 officers killed in the line of duty, according to the Memorial Fund.
(c) 2017, The Washington Post · Kristine Phillips
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