The murder of New York City police officer Miosotis Familia is part of “troubling” trend of targeted attacks against law enforcement in recent years, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Wednesday.
“This murder in cold blood is a tragedy, and sadly it is the latest in a troubling series of attacks on police officers over the past two years. These attacks must stop and we must honor the service of every law enforcement officer and the memory of those we have lost in the line of duty,” said Sessions.
Familia, 48, was fatally shot early Wednesday morning while on patrol in the Bronx in what New York City Police Commissioner James O’Neill called an “unprovoked attack.”
Familia was sitting in a police truck when 34-year-old Alexander Bonds opened fire through the passenger-side window. Her partner, who was in the police truck during the attack, escaped unharmed. Another NYPD officer killed Bonds.
Bonds has a lengthy rap sheet and has served multiple prison sentences. He was arrested in Jan. 2001 after punching a police officer with brass knuckles and recently posted anti-police screeds online. He was paroled in May 2013 after serving an eight-year prison sentence for a robbery in Syracuse, The New York Times reported.
“Officer Miosotis Familia proudly wore the badge for 12 years, serving her community and keeping the people of New York City safe,” Sessions said.
“She was doing her duty, on patrol in the Bronx, when she was unjustly targeted and murdered in a cowardly, unprovoked attack. She will be remembered for her years of service and for the example of selflessness that she set protecting innocent people on our streets.”
Police officers have been targeted in ambush-style attacks with more frequency in recent years.
In Dec. 2014, 28-year-old Ismaaiyl Brinsley fatally shot two NYPD officers while they were sitting in their cruiser in Brooklyn. Brinsley, who killed himself following the shooting, had also posted anti-police sentiments online.
Eight police officers were killed in two separate attacks last July. In the first, Micah X. Johnson killed five police officers in Dallas during a Black Lives Matter protest. Johnson, a former Army private, had ties to black nationalist groups.
Just over a week later, Gavin Long ambushed a group of Baton Rogue police officers, killing three. Long had expressed anger over the recent police-involved shootings of Baton Rouge native Alton Sterling and Philando Castille, a Minnesota man killed by a police officer during a traffic stop.
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