Incident Summary:

12/20/2014: An assailant opened fire on New York City Police Department officers while they were sitting in their vehicle in Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, Brooklyn, New York City, United States. Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were killed in the attack. The assailant, identified as Ismaaiyl Brinsley, claimed responsibility and stated that the attack was carried out to avenge the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner at the hands of the authorities.

GTD ID:
201412200060

When:
2014-12-20

Country:
United States

Region:
North America

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

New York

City:
New York City

Location Details:
The incident occurred in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough in the city.

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Armed Assault
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Police
Name of Entity New York City Police Department
Specific Description Officers: Wenjian Liu, Rafael Romos
Nationality of Target United States
Additional Information
Hostages No
Ransom No
Property Damage Yes
Extent of Property Damage Minor (likely < $1 million)
Value of Property Damage Unknown
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Firearms Handgun
Weapon Details
A Taurus semiautomatic handgun was used in the attack.
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?No
Part of Multiple Incident?No
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Doubt Terrorism Proper (more) No
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Claimed Responsibility
Anti-Police extremists Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Posted to website, blog, etc.)
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators 1
Number of Captured Perpetrators 0
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 2 Fatalities / 0 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities 2
Number of U.S. Fatalities 2
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 0
Total Number of Injured 0
Number of U.S. Injured 0
Number of Perpetrators Injured 0
Sources
"Two Police Officers Shot in Their Patrol Car in Brooklyn," New York Times, December 20, 2014.
"Two NYC police officers killed in ambush shooting," The Hindu, December 21, 2014.
"Two New York City police officers are shot, one fatally, during a brazen ambush in Brooklyn," Washington Post, December 20, 2014.