NYPD Officer 'Assassinated' In 'Unprovoked' Attack; Condolences Pour In From Long Island

BRONX, NY — An NYPD officer was shot and killed while sitting inside of a mobile command unit in the Bronx early Wednesday morning, NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill said.

At around 12:30 a.m., Miosotis Familia, 48, was sitting inside of the unit with a partner near the corner of Morris Avenue and East 183rd Street, O'Neill said. A suspect fired a weapon through the vehicle's window and hit Familia in the head, according to O'Neill.

Officers found a man running a block away from the scene of the shooting, police said, and when they approached him, he drew a revolver. The suspect, 34-year-old Alexander Bonds, was shot and killed by the officers, police said. A bystander was also struck during the shootout and is in stable condition, according to police.

Familia, a 12-year-veteran of the force, was taken to Saint Barnabas Hospital where she later died.

"Based on what we know now, it is clear that this was an unprovoked direct attack on police officers who were assigned to keep the people of this city safe," O'Neill told reporters at the hospital.

It's unclear what provoked the attack, but Bonds was seen on surveillance footage approaching the post "with purpose," the AP reported.

Familia's partner frantically screamed into his radio for help after the shooting.

"I need a f------ bus! 10-85 10-85!" he yelled, according to the New York Daily News. "My partner’s shot! My partner’s shot! My partner’s shot! Hurry up central!"

Officers with the NYPD's anti-crime team raced to the scene, where they shot and killed the suspect nearby, police said. This revolver was recovered from the scene:

Witnesses thought the gunshots were fireworks.

"I was in this bodega right here on Creston, just getting a sandwich, and all of a sudden there was all this running and stuff going on, and I look out probably 40, 50, 60 cops screaming, 'Call a paramedic, clear the block!'" one witness told the Daily News.

"It looked like there was a riot going on, and two seconds later I hear gunshots, ‘bam, bam,’ and then the police officer was just lying there in front of the stationary precinct — right here on Creston."

Officers outside the hospital saluted as Familia's body was taken to the medical examiner.

Bonds was on parole for a robbery in Syracuse, according to the Associated Press.

"The city was celebrating our Independence Day, one of those days we look forward to each year," Mayor Bill de Blasio said at the hospital, according to the News. "The NYPD did an extraordinary job keeping our city safe ... and tragedy struck."

Announcing news of Familia's death on Twitter later Wednesday morning, O'Neill characterized the killing as an assassination:

The Suffolk County Police Department posted the following statement on its Facebook page:

"We are heartbroken at the news of fallen Officer Miosotis Familia of the NYPD, who was assassinated early this morning while on duty in the Bronx. Please join us in sending thoughts and prayers to her loved ones and our extended law enforcement family in the NYPD."

The Nassau County Police Department also posted a statement on Facebook. It reads in part: "Our thoughts and prayers are with our brothers and sisters in law enforcement in the NYPD as well as Officer Familia's family and friends. May we never forget the sacrifice that Police Officer Familia made while working to keep the people of New York City safe."

Nassau County Police P.B.A President James McDermott called the shooting "a horrific and horrendous act. This kind of violence against police officers cannot be tolerated or forgotten across the nation."

Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer said Familia was "doing her job to protect the people of the City of New York and by extension all of us as she was part of the basic tenant of our society: law and order. Loss of respect for law enforcement leads to chaos. Let's stand with her children, family and brothers and sisters of the NYPD as they deal with this horrific grief."

Reporting by Marc Torrence

Photo: Seth Wenig, Associated Press