WASHINGTON – A New York Police Department officer and mother of three has died after being shot early Wednesday morning while sitting in a police vehicle in the Bronx.
Miosotis Familia, 48, a 12-year NYPD veteran assigned to the 46th precinct, was wrapping up her shift in a communications vehicle around 12:30 a.m. when 34-year-old Alexander Bonds walked up to the vehicle “with purpose,” according to the New York Daily News and fired one shot into Familia’s head.
Familia’s partner radioed for help, and other officers shot and killed Bonds as he attempted to flee the scene. One bystander was also shot in the stomach but is in stable condition.
Familia was taken to St. Barnabas’ Hospital in the Bronx where she died early Wednesday.
Police Commissioner James O’Neill said at a press briefing “it is obvious this was an unprovoked attack on police officers.”
The attack comes after a video surfaced showing Bonds ranting about the treatment of convicts in prison by police officers.
Bonds was released on parole in 2013 after serving time in jail for an armed robbery in Syracuse. His rap sheet also includes assaulting a police officer with brass knuckles.
Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch praised Familia for her bravery in patrolling an area plagued by gang violence: “Fully knowing the dangers that she faced, she suited up in uniform everyday and stood tall against those who threaten and terrorize the good folks of the Bronx.”
“Police Officer Familia now joins the exclusive ranks of women who have heroically served and died in the line of duty,” Lynch continued. “We will keep her in our hearts and minds as we do all of the women and men who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the city they loved.”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the attack a “horrific and senseless assassination.”
“I offer my deepest condolences to Officer Familia’s loved ones and fellow members of the NYPD,” the governor said in a statement. “Today, we all come together to mourn one of New York’s finest.”
As Familia’s body was taken from St. Barnabas Hospital around 5:30 a.m., a procession of her fellow officers gave her one final salute.
Familia worked as a nurse for the Red Cross from September 1997 to February 1999 and then at New York University Hospital before joining the NYPD in 2005.
