The female officer was shot in the head while she was sitting in her vehicle.
The NYPD says that the suspect who has been identified as Alexander Bonds, 34, walked up to the vehicle, positioned in the neighborhood in response to a recent shooting, and opened fire.
Right after the shooting, Officer Familia’s partner, Vincent Maher, called for assistance, and two other officers encountered the suspect a block away. When the gunman drew a silver revolver, they opened fire, killing him.
A bystander was struck by a bullet in that shootout, and is in stable condition, said the police commissioner, James P. O’Neill.
“Based on what we know right now, this was an unprovoked attack against police officers who want to keep this great city safe,” Commissioner O’Neill, said at a news conference at the hospital, where Officer Familia was pronounced dead at 3:37 a.m. Outside, a line of officers saluted their fallen colleague; some escorted her body to the medical examiner’s officer.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, speaking at the same news conference, praised Officer Familia and expressed the city’s grief.
“She was on duty, serving this city, protecting people, doing what she believed in and doing the job she loved,” he said. “And after this shocking and sudden attack her fellow officers came to her aid immediately.”
Officer Miosotis Familia was a 12 year veteran of the NYPD. She leaves behind 3 children.
