Man's Family Speaks After He Killed NYPD Officers & Shot Ex-Girlfriend In Md.
BALTIMORE (WJZ) --Spree of violence as a troubled, young man open fired on his ex-girlfriend in Owings Mills and then ambushed and killed two New York City officers.
Ismaaiyl Brinsley left a bus stop in Baltimore before continuing his rampage in New York. His family is now speaking and police are piecing together his final moments.
Mike Hellgren has the details.
This is the last known video of Brinsley, hours after he left Baltimore and moments before he murdered two New York City police officers. They believe the gun was in the bag.
Despite posting on Instagram that he was trying to avenge the deaths of Mike Brown and Eric Garner, his sister claims that was not the motive.
She said her brother was mentally ill.
"He was emotionally troubled," Jalaa'a Brinsley said. "It had nothing to do with police retaliation, absolutely nothing... he was disturbed.. the way he did this, it's horrifying."
Her brother's horrifying rampage started just after 4:00 a.m. on Saturday in Baltimore County, where Brinsley argued with his ex-girlfriend Shaneka Thompson.
In a WJZ exclusive, Thompson's next door neighbor, who asked us not to show his face, said it started as an argument.
"I'm tired of you. You need to get out. eave me along. Then all of a sudden she told him 'get off me.' She was saying he was crazy. You're crazy. I need to get away from you. You're crazy," the neighbor said.
The fight continued for 20 minutes when things got quiet.
"I hear her crying. Then all of a sudden I hear this scream out of fear. Then I heard a pop. I heard her say 'you shot me, you shot me, you shot me," the neighbor said.
"The caller that was calling in from Mill Run Circle is in the hallway dealing with someone who's been shot. It's her ex-boyfriend. She's got a green shirt, navy pants. As far as I know she is laying in the hallway," a 911 dispatcher said.
Police interviewed the victim from her hospital bed.
"She told us the only thing they discussed on Saturday was their personal relationship. She never mentioned police. He never mentioned where he was going," Baltimore County spokesperson Elise Armacost said.
"He's currently homeless. He has no friends or family in the area. New York. His family is in New York," another 911 call said.
Police in Baltimore County sent a warning poster to New York authorities one minute before officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were shot.
"We know the pain. We're going through the same pain right now. He was an emotionally troubled young man," Jalaa'a Brinsley said.
Authorities said Brinsley tried to commit suicide in Maryland before heading to New York.
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