National Post

NYC officer shot to death

Mother of 3 ambushed in command post

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• A New York City police officer was shot to death early Wednesday, ambushed inside a mobile command post by an ex- convict who had ranted online about his treatment in prison and about officers getting away with killing people, authoritie­s said. The gunman was killed by police about a block away.

Mi os otis Fa mil ia, a 12-year member of the force, was writing in her notebook in the front seat of the RV-like vehicle when the killer strode up to it in a Bronx neighbourh­ood around 12:30 a.m. and fired one round through the passenger- side window, striking her in the head, authoritie­s said.

“PO Miosotis Familia has been assassinat­ed in an unprovoked attack on cops assigned to keep NYers safe,” Police Commission­er James O’Neill tweeted.

Her partner radioed franticall­y for help, and police caught up to 34- year- old Alexander Bonds, who was gunned down after pulling a revolver, police said.

Witness Jay Marzelli told the Daily News that he was getting a sandwich at a bodega and thought the shots were Fourth of July fireworks at first.

“All of a sudden there was all this running and stuff going on, and I look out, probably 40, 50, 60 cops screaming, ‘ Call a paramedic, clear the block!’ ” he said. “It looked like there was a riot going on, and two seconds later I hear gunshots, ‘ Bam, bam.’ ”

Familia, 48, had been stationed inside the mobile command post, which had been setup in the highcrime neighbourh­ood since March after a triple shooting.

Bonds was sentenced to six years in Attica prison for armed robbery and had been paroled in 2013. He had other arrests, including one in 2001, when as a teenager he was accused of attacking an officer with brass knuckles.

In a video posted on Facebook in September, the Bronx man ranted about the treatment of people by officers and talked about how hard life was behind bars.

“Don’t think every brother, cousin, uncle you got that get killed in jail is because of a Blood or Crip or Latin King killing them. Nah, police be killing them and saying that an inmate killed them,” he said in the video.

At another point, he said: “I’m not playing, Mr. Officer. I don’t care about 100 police watching this.” And: “It’s time for people to wisen up.”

There was little indication the killing had a racial dimension. Bonds was black; Familia was black and Hispanic; her family is from the Dominican Republic.

Familia, a mother of three, lived with her mother and worked the midnight shift in the Bronx.

 ?? SETH WENIG / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ?? Officers walk past the shattered window of an NYPD vehicle near where a police officer was shot in the Bronx section of New York City Wednesday. The officer was ambushed inside her command post RV by an ex- convict, authoritie­s said. He was later...
SETH WENIG / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Officers walk past the shattered window of an NYPD vehicle near where a police officer was shot in the Bronx section of New York City Wednesday. The officer was ambushed inside her command post RV by an ex- convict, authoritie­s said. He was later...

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