N.Y. officer fatally shot by friendly fire
Suspect charged with murder, robbery, assault
NEW YORK — The robbery suspect targeted in a hail of police gunfire that killed a New York City detective Tuesday night has a long rap sheet and a history of bizarre pranks ready-made for his social media pages.
Christopher Ransom, 27, once faked his way into a police station and a judge’s chambers and has loaded up his Facebook and Youtube pages with videos of himself masquerading as a Speedo-wearing superhero.
After one arrest, court papers show, Ransom was taken to a psychiatric ward.
Detective Brian Simonsen died after being struck once in the chest as he and six other officers fired at Ransom, who charged toward the entrance of a T-mobile store in Queens while simulating pulling the trigger of his fake handgun, police said.
The officers fired a total of 42 times, NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan said.
Simonsen’s supervisor, Sgt. Matthew Gorman, was shot in the leg and is in stable condition. Police have charged Ransom with murder, robbery, assault, aggravated manslaughter and menacing. It wasn’t clear if he had a lawyer.
The shooting started as Gorman and two uniformed officers retreated from the store when Ransom emerged from a back room and came at them, Chief of Department Terence Monahan said.
“You have to understand, this happens in seconds,” Monahan said. “It goes from 0 to 60. You’re investigating a possible crime and all of a sudden someone is charging at you, pointing what you believe to be a firearm, simulating firing at you. It raises everything very quickly.”
Simonsen stayed outside as Gorman and the uniformed officers went in, Monahan said. Simonsen fired two of the 42 shots. Gorman fired 11 times. It’s not clear who fired the shots that struck them, Monahan said.
The gunshots blew out the store’s doors, showering the sidewalk with glass.
Five officers captured parts of the scene on body cameras, Force Investigation Division Chief Kevin Maloney said. Investigators are also reviewing surveillance footage from the store.
Ransom has been arrested at least 11 times since 2012, records show, and he was wanted by police in connection with a Jan. 19 robbery at another cellphone store.