Court records show that the gunman who killed two NYPD officers sitting in their patrol car Saturday in Brooklyn had a history of violence and that he at least once referenced receiving mental health treatment, the Baltimore Sun reports.
As NYPD investigators assembled a timeline for the fatal shooting of the officers by Ismaaiyl Brinsley, the Maryland newspaper reported that Brinsley left high school in the 10th grade and exhibited a history of odd behavior and violent threats.
Brinsley shot and injured a former girlfriend in Baltimore early Saturday before fleeing to New York on a bus, but he had no criminal record in Maryland, authorities said. He posted anti-police messages on social media, then told bystanders in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood "watch what I'm going to do" before fatally shooting officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos as they sat in their squad car in Bedford-Stuyvesant. He then ran into a subway station and took his own life.
Brinsley allegedly wrote that he was "putting wings on pigs today" in an Instagram post shortly before killing Ramos and Liu, officials said. Then, moments before the shootings, investigators say he told bystanders "watch what I'm about to do."
Brinsley had been arrested nine times since 2004 in Atlanta, according to court records cited by the Baltimore Sun. The charges ranged from carrying a concealed weapon to trespassing. He was convicted of disorderly conduct and shoplifting, according to records at the Fulton County, Georgia, Sheriff's Office.
In a pleaded questionnaire, the 28-year-old answered "yes" to a question that asked "Have you ever been a patient in a mental institution or under the care of a psychiatrist or psychologist?", the newspaper reports. No other information was provided on the care he received.
Brinsley violated probation for several years by failing to check in with his parole officer and failing to complete court-ordered screenings for drug and alcohol abuse, the Sun reported.
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Brinsley is described as a nomad, given history in Georgia, Ohio and Baltimore. Law enforcement sources say his 11-month-old child lives in Bedford-Stuyvesant with the child's mother. Brinsley's mother is also thought to live in Crown Heights.
Brinsley's mother and sister both told investigators they were afraid of the man.
