This is the man who shot dead two police officers in a sickening act of revenge for the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown.
Ismaaiyl Abdullah Brinsley, 28, shot his girlfriend in Baltimore on Saturday morning then traveled 190 miles to Brooklyn where he fired a fatal round of bullets at officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos – before turning the gun on himself.
According to witnesses, Brinsley walked out of a home with a gun in his hand at 3pm, crept up behind the officers’ patrol car, and systematically shot both men in the head through the passenger window.
He then walked to the Myrtle/Willoughby G train subway station where he shot himself in the head.
It came two hours after he posted a picture of a gun on Instagram with the chilling message: ‘I’m Putting Wings On Pigs Today.
‘They Take 1 Of Ours… Let’s Take 2 of Theirs #ShootThePolice #RIPErivGardner (sic) #RIPMikeBrown.
‘This May Be My Final Post. I’m Putting Pigs In A Blanket.’
The victims – both operating in different areas to their usual beat – were taken to Woodhull Hospital after the attack but died within hours.
Attack: This is Ismail Brinsley, 28, who police believe shot dead two NYPD cops in an ‘execution style’ attack
Before: This picture and chilling message was posted on the alleged shooter’s page two hours beforehand
Chilling: Brinsley told followers he would be ‘putting pigs in a blanket’ in apparent revenge for Eric Garner
After: Brinsley posted this image of his blood-stained trousers moments after the attack before killing himself
Targeted: This is the police car that Brinsley targeted, parked in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn
Tragically, a wanted flyer was emailed from Baltimore County Police to the New York Police Department after they gained intelligence that Brinsley had shot his former girlfriend.
Officers Liu and Ramos were stationed in a new precinct as part of a crime prevention strategy to deal with a recent influx of reports in that area.
One of Brinsley’s friends, Paul Young, told DailyMail.com the alleged shooter is a rapper who took part in the recent anti-police protests.
Young said: ‘He posted motivational stuff on Instagram and went to the protests. I think this really came as a shock to a lot of people.
‘He shot his girlfriend this morning then went to shoot those cops.’
Investigators are now looking into posts on the Instagram social network from Brinsley who detailed his explicit plans to kill two NYPD officers today because of the Garner’s death this summer.
Brinsley’s account has now been deleted.
Eric Garner died in a police chokehold on Staten Island, sparking widespread outrage when a grand jury later decided not to indict anybody over the death.
Policemen were seen flooding the streets around the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood where the shooting took place around 3pm Saturday afternoon.
A police source speaking to the Post said the killings resembled ‘an execution’ in which the attacker started ‘pumping bullets’ into the officers.
According to the New York Daily News, Brinsley was hiding out in a house, walked up behind the patrol car and opened fire in a planned attack.
Brinsley was arrested in Dekalb, Georgia, on October 24, 2007, for criminal trespass.
In 2011, he was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon and reckless behavior.
Panic: Dozens of police officers are gathered looking shaken at Woodhull Medical Center where their two colleagues succumbed to their gunshot wounds. Commissioner Bratton will address reporters at 7pm
Shock: Crowds of cops are lining the scene of the crime where Tompkins Avenue meets Myrtle Avenue
Fears: Senior members of the NYPD say they have been warning for weeks that the unrest could escalate
Attacks: Officials said police officers are walking around with a balls-eye on their backs in the current climate
Shooting: Officers flooded the street after the shooting. Witnesses says policemen chased down the suspect, who is thought to have shot himself
Cordon: Officers sealed off the area after the attack in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood
Sealed off: Witnesses uploaded pictures to social media of the street, which was cordoned off after the shooting
Chaos: The killings follow weeks of tensions between protesters and the NYPD
Authorities said that officers pursued the man into the subway, where he shot himself.
The shooting comes at a time of record tensions between the NYPD and many of the communities in the city.
Widespread protests over the death of Garner, and the grand jury’s later actions showed huge levels of suspicion and distrust of law enforcement and the justice system.
Last week officers were assaulted on the Brooklyn Bridge, where thousands of demonstrators gathered.
Officers have complained that the citizens, as well as politicians including mayor Bill de Blasio, turned their back on them, while protesters routinely refer to the police as murderers and racists.
Thousands are blaming the double murder on Mayor Bill de Blasio following his recent support for protesters in the city marching in opposition to a grand jury’s decision to not indict the police officer who killed Eric Garner.
Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik told Newsmax: ‘De Blasio, Sharpton and all those who encouraged this anti-cop, racist mentality all have blood on their hands.’
New York State Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis said in a statement: ‘It is well past the time for our mayor and citywide leaders to call for a return to order in our streets, and take a hard stance that that lawlessness and aggression towards police officers will not be tolerated.
‘Extreme anti-police sentiment and public unruliness have been permitted to fester for far too long.’
A petition for de Blasio’s resignation has already amassed more than 5,000 signatures.
Hundreds have taken to social media to say that de Blasio has ‘blood on his hands’ and should ‘be charged with murder’ after the two men were killed ‘execution style’ in Brooklyn.
What’s more, many feel that de Blasio should not attend the men’s funeral, this after many members of the NYPD signed a petition asking that the Mayor not attend their service should they be killed in the line of duty in light of his recent actions.
Scene: Emergency vehicles piled into the neighborhood today after the fatal shooting
Heavy duty: Although the lone attacker reportedly shot himself, heavily armed officers were deployed on the streets
Harry Houck, a retired NYPD detective, went on CNN to attack both de Blasio and Al Sharpton.
‘I guess Al Sharpton got what he wanted,’ said Houck of the civil rights leader.
Houck then attacked the Mayor for not supporting the leadership in the police department, saying that he should not show up at the funeral or these two officers.
Furthermore, he said Saturday’s killings were inevitable as the protesters wanted to ‘take out a cop for Eric Garner.’
He then added, ‘I’ve been waiting for something like this to happen.’
Al Sharpton said in a statement: ‘I have spoken to the Garner family and we are outraged by the early reports of the police killed in Brooklyn today.
‘Any use of the names of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, in connection with any violence or killing of police, is reprehensible and against the pursuit of justice in both cases.
‘We have stressed at every rally and march that anyone engaged in any violence is an enemy to the pursuit of justice for Eric Garner and Michael Brown.
‘We have been criticized at National Action Network for not allowing rhetoric or chanting of violence and would abruptly denounce it at all of our gatherings.
‘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.
‘We plan to hold a press conference in the morning to express our outrage and our condolences to the families and the police department.’
