Detective Rafael L. Ramos

Rafael L. Ramos

Police Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were shot and killed from ambush while sitting in their patrol car at the intersection of Myrtle and Thompkins Avenues in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Both officers were participating in an anti-terrorism drill when a subject walked up to their patrol car and opened fire with a handgun, striking them both in the head and upper body multiple times. Other officers immediately pursued the the subject into a nearby subway station where the man committed suicide.

The subject was a gang member from Baltimore, Maryland, who had traveled to New York City specifically to ambush police officers. The man had published his intentions on social media prior to the shooting.

Officer Ramos had served with the New York City Police Department for two years and was assigned to the 84th Precinct. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of detective. He is survived by his wife and two sons.