Former Gov. George Pataki publicly blamed New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio as well as Attorney General Eric Holder for the killings of officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos on Saturday afternoon, tweeting that the deaths “sadly are a predictable outcome of divisive anti-cop rhetoric” from Holder and de Blasio.
Sickened by these barbaric acts, which sadly are a predictable outcome of divisive anti-cop rhetoric of #ericholder & #mayordeblasio. #NYPD
— George E. Pataki (@GovernorPataki) December 21, 2014
The NYPD Sergeants Benevolent Association sent out a similar tweet.
The blood of 2 executed police officers is on the hands of Mayor de Blasio. May God bless their families and may they rest in peace.
— SBA (@SBANYPD) December 21, 2014
The alleged culprit behind the shooting deaths of the officers, identified as 28-year-old Ismaaiyl Brinsley, made his plans in an Instagram post before carrying through.
The post stated “I’m Putting Wings On Pigs Today. They Take 1 Of Ours…… Let’s Take 2 of Theirs #ShootThePolice #RIPErivGardner #RIPMikeBrown This May Be My Final Post.”
Brinsley allegedly “took a shooting stance on the passenger side and fired his weapon several times through the front passenger window, striking both officers in the head” at approximately 2:47 p.m. on Saturday, according to Police Commissioner William J. Bratton. Bratton said that after Brinsley shot the officers he ran to the Myrtle-Willoughby subway station where he shot himself in the head.
Police said that Brinsley was involved in a separate shooting earlier on Saturday in Baltimore County, MD. Brinsley allegedly shot and wounded his ex-girlfriend before posting his future plans to “shoot the police” and traveling to Brooklyn.