Alexander Bonds, the gunman who police say fatally shot New York City police officer Miosotis Familia as she sat in a police vehicle early Wednesday, had previously expressed outrage at police via social media posts.
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The gunman who shot and killed an NYPD officer had posted anti-police sentiments on Facebook
Alexander Bonds fatally shot NYPD officer Miosotis Familia early Wednesday as she sat in a police vehicle.
This April 10, 2013 photo released by the New York State Department of Corrections shows Alexander Bonds, also known as John Bonds.
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Familia, 48, was pronounced dead at St. Barnabas Hospital just hours after the shooting. She was a 12-year veteran of the NYPD and a mother of three.
Bonds, 34, was killed by police officers at the scene. On his Facebook page, he occasionally posted links to videos showing officers using force against civilians. He vehemently decried police brutality in one Facebook Live video shot last September.
"I'm not hesitating. It ain't happening. I wasn't a b---- in jail and I'm not going to be a b---- in these streets. They don't f--- with me and I damn sure don't f--- with them," he said in the video.
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"I'm not playing Mr. Officer. I don't care about 100 police watching this sh--. You see this face or anything, then leave it alone, trust and believe. I got broken ribs for a reason, son. We gonna shake. We gonna do something."
Investigators have reviewed the Facebook video, The New York Times reported, citing law enforcement officials.
Bonds, who is also identified in the New York state prison system as John Bonds, was out on parole since 2013 after serving a seven-year sentence for robbery. He was also convicted in 2004 for selling a controlled substance near a school.
Bonds lived in an apartment in the Longwood section of the Bronx, investigators told NBC 4 New York, but had also occasionally lived in homeless shelters.
One of Bonds' friends, Elaine Lucas, told the Times that he had never shown himself to be violent, or to express anti-police sentiments.
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"He was a sweetheart," she said. "A little hardheaded, but a sweetheart."
NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill called Bonds' shooting "an unprovoked attack against police officers who want to keep this great city safe."
Patrick Lynch, head of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association police union, called for the public to report threats made against police officers.
"This kind of violence against police officers cannot stand," Lynch said, according to the Times. "We need the public's help. When you see someone that's making threats, doing something against police officers, you need to let us know. You need to be our eyes and ears. We also have to remember the hundreds of police officers that are here now with their heads bowed in sorrow."
Familia's death is closely resembles another 2014 shooting in New York City, in which a gunman opened fire on officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos as they sat in their police cruiser.
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That shooter, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, had suffered from mental illness and previously said on social media he wanted to kill police officers. Brinsley fatally shot himself shortly after killing Liu and Ramos.
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