A New York Police Department lieutenant shot in the arm by a gunman who opened fire in a police precinct has been released from the hospital.
Lt. Jose Gautreaux was greeted by lines of waiting officers as he left the hospital. The suspect, Robert Williams, was captured at the precinct on Sunday morning.
Police said that attack came just hours after Williams approached a patrol van on Saturday night and fired at two officers inside, wounding one. Williams faces charges including attempted murder, criminal weapon possession and resisting arrest.
Both the police commissioner and mayor called the gunfire in the Bronx “an assassination attempt.”
Leaders in New York City blamed the ambush on an atmosphere of anti-police rhetoric.
New York City's Police Commissioner Dermot Shea lashed out at activists who have held demonstrations against excessive force by police in recent months. Shea didn't offer any evidence that the gunman knew of those protests or was influenced by them.
A leader of police reform activists says it was irresponsible for Shea and Mayor Bill de Blasio to link the violence to the recent demonstrations.
It wasn't clear whether he had an attorney to speak for him.
