In New York, police attacked weapons twice a day

In New York, the second attack in 12 hours against police officers occurred. It caused a wave of indignation on the part of officials - authorities believe that "anti-police sentiment has gotten out of control." US President Donald Trump called on "Stop it now." This publication writes abcNEWS.

What happened

Early on Sunday morning, February 9, a man entered the 41st New York Police Station and opened fire on the officers who were there, wounding one of them. The culprit was Robert Williams, 45, from the Bronx. It hit the lieutenant's hand; other police officers could have been hurt as well, but the shooter ran out of bullets. As a result, the shooter ended up on the floor, throwing his pistol. “Only by the grace of God and thanks to the heroic actions of those who were inside the building and who took him into custody, we are not talking about the police killed inside the New York police station,” Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said at a press conference.

This attack happened just a few hours after around 20:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 8, Williams approached a patrol wagon in the same part of the Bronx and opened fire on two officers inside. One of the cops was injured, and Bill escaped, police said.

Williams was charged with attempted murder, possession of a weapon of crime and resisting arrest. The offender was hospitalized on the evening of February 9.

According to the suspect's grandmother, Williams has "been upset" since his son died in the Bronx. “Sometimes he was depressed because his son was shot in the street,” the 80-year-old woman told the New York Post. "It was his only child."

Officer Paul Stroffolino, wounded by Williams, was discharged from the hospital on February 9 to the applause of his colleagues.

Shea called Williams "a coward" and said he had a long criminal past, including a gunfight and car theft in 2002, when he also shot policemen. According to Shea, after the attempted murder he was released on parole from prison in 2017.

"Anti-police sentiment"

The commissioner also lashed out at criminal justice reform activists who have spoken out against excessive use of force by the police in recent months, including a major protest at the Central Terminal. The protests, he suggested, helped create an antipolice environment. “There were people walking the streets of New York recently,” Shea said. - Words matter. And words influence people's behavior. " Shi provided no evidence that Williams was aware of or was influenced by these protests.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, who took office in part due to a promise to reform an overly aggressive policing service in minority communities, also suggested that antipolice sentiment was spiraling out of control. "Anyone who spews hatred on our officers encourages this atmosphere: it is unacceptable," said de Blasio. "You can protest against everything, but you cannot vilely attack those who are here to protect us."

Other attacks on cops

This is not the only unprovoked attack on police officers. In 2017, a gunman killed officer Miosotis Familia in a patrol car in the Bronx. In 2014, two officers, Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, were shot dead in a Brooklyn patrol car by a man upset that police had previously killed an unarmed black man.

The killings of Ramos and Liu also followed major protests. Some officers accused de Blasio of expressing solidarity with the demonstrations and turned away from the Democrat at the funeral.

Robert Gangi, executive director of the Police Reform Organizing Project advocacy group, said that it was "irresponsible" for Shea and de Blasio to link the weekend violence to the recent demonstrations, in which he said there were activists “protesting in a legal manner”. “There is no protection from the madman who opens fire on the police,” Gangi said.

US President Incident Response

President Trump responded to the incident, the newspaper wrote. Washington examiner. He called on local New York law enforcement and state policymakers to do more to protect their police.

“I grew up in New York and over the years have watched who were considered the 'best' of New York,” Trump tweeted on February 9. “Now, with the weak leadership of the Governor and Mayor, our wonderful New York City police force is under threat. Stop it now! "