a fire breathing performance stuns the crowd. >> everybody just kind of stopped breathing for a minute. a snowmobiler comes crashing off a cliff. >> it was like losing my brother right in front of my eyes. and a race car driver is engulfed in flames. >> my first thought was we got to get him out. >> mix a little bit of thrill -- [ screams ] -- with a dash of danger and some very bad decisions -- >> we're leaving and she's driving. i'm drunk. >> -- you may find yourself in a situation you'd never want to be in.

>> no, no, no, no, no! "caught on camera -- don't try this at home." hello. i'm contessa brewer. welcome to "caught on camera." from an early age we're told never to play with fire. maybe that's why we're so fascinated by people who dare to get close to the flames. our first story is about a fire breathing performer. and as you'll see, years of training aren't enough to avoid a terrifying accident. we want to warn you about everything in this hour, from beginning to end. don't try any of it at home. or anywhere for that matter. a fire breather performs a move she's done hundreds of times before, but this time, in the midst of her act, she sets herself ablaze.

hudson, quebec, is 40 miles from the french canadian city of montreal. it's also home to a summer music festival that draws thousands. >> the hudson festival is very, very popular with the town. everybody comes out. it's a very festive atmosphere. >> the best place to watch the performances is the stage by cunningham's restaurant and bar. >> we luck out every year. we have the stage right in front of our pub. >> july 31st, 2010, is the last night of the festival. hudson resident sherry graham is there with her family and her video camera. >> there's some really, really interesting things. i walk around and see what i would like to film. >> she's not the only one excited to be at the festival. the area outside cunningham's is packed. in addition to the music, there's a special nighttime act, a fire breathing performance. >> we didn't know what to expect, but we knew it would be probably exciting. >> fire breathing has long captured the imagination with

its irresistible mix of dazzle and daring. >> fire breathing is something that captivates the crowd. it's the chance that something is dangerous, but it's being controlled. >> it's that thrill, that excitement, a lot of people really crave. >> performing that night are the members of carnival abraxas, a circus troupe. the highlight will be a french canadian fire artist named ayesha seveny. >> to deal with fire, it's a special thing that's kind of magical. >> ayesha has years of training behind her. she learned the practice from her father, also a performer, and has entertained crowds all over canada. now all eyes are on the stage at cunningham's. >> we were ready for a very nice show. >> it was a nice evening. everybody was having a blast. >> it was a night you just didn't want to end. >> as the performance begins, sherry turns on her camera. >> i wasn't sure i'd be able to get anything because it was very dark and my camera doesn't have any type of lighting.

so i just kind of held it up and we'll see what happens. >> andrew dumais stands at the edge of the stage with a fire extinguisher. >> because i served four years on the hudson fire department, i would be on stand-by just in case there were any mishaps. >> after her colleague performs, it's ayesha's turn. >> the music changed. it was a little different. you kind of got the feeling that it was going to be something spectacular. >> ayesha begins her routine. first she touches the fire to her arms. >> we always begin our show with that kind of trick. what we don't show the people is that we put some cream before. >> the special cream prevents ayesha from burning her skin. now she prepares for the main event. >> we take the oil and we spit the oil like in a mist, and this is the mist will goes in fire when we spit it on a torch. >> ayesha takes a sip of oil

from her flask and holds it in her mouth. >> seemed like even the music stopped, and then she lifted the flame up high and looked up towards it and then blew. >> ayesha is suddenly engulfed in flames. >> there was just a big ball of fire. >> the fire just go like ten feet higher than me. >> it was just the brightest thing in the night sky that really got everybody to wow. >> instead of blowing it out in front of her, a gust of wind blows the fire back in her face. >> i feel the wind and at this point, the flame came in my face, and i wasn't able to control it anymore. >> it seemed like a part of the act for a second, then when she put her arm down with the torch, you could see the flame was still in her face. everybody just kind of stopped breathing for a minute. >> the next 30 seconds are a

slow motion nightmare for ayehsa as she struggles to put out the fire. >> the fire was turning around my head, in my hair, my shoulder. i was trying to remove it. was removing the fire here, it starts another place. so okay, something is wrong here. >> it wasn't stopping. it just seemed like the flames were not going out. kind of like one of those birthday candles that you blow out and it just doesn't go. >> in fact, the fire is spreading. the audience can only look on in shock. >> i went from being fascinated and intrigued to being horrified. >> the mood of the crowd completely changed from excitement and fun to shock and a bit of horror. >> as the fire threatened to consume her, ayesha rushes off the stage. >> there is nothing except that people screaming around me.

oh, what's happened, what's happened? >> andrew rushes toward her with the fire extinguisher. >> i could see her face, it was on fire. something i've never seen in my life. four years on the fire department we put out houses, we put out cars, we don't put out human beings. >> in seconds the extinguisher puts out the flames. >> i heard the sound of the whoosh of the fire extinguisher and everything was stopped. >> we ushered her off to a tent behind the stage set up for the performe performers. somebody had dialed 911 at that point. >> at first ayesha doesn't feel any pain. she seems more worried about the audience than herself. >> the only thing i was thinking was the show must go on. the music have to begin again and just do like nothing happened. >> but then the ambulance arrives and the pain begins. >> during the time i was in the ambulance, it was one of the longest time in my life because at this point it was burning. it was really painful. >> everybody's mind was on is she okay, is she going to be all right. >> inside cunningham's pub, sherry checks her camera.

>> i just felt nauseous because i thought, you know, there's quite a good possibility that i caught some of that on tape here and i still didn't know how ayesha was really. >> in the hospital for just one night, ayesha turns out to be fine except for some surface burns which clear up in two weeks. ayesha herself wonders if someone caught the moment on camera. >> i wanted to know what happened. and if i'm able to see that in video, i will be able to watch it and try to realize what happened. >> when sherry learns that ayesha is fine, she sends her the video. >> it took me a long time to track down ayesha. and i finally did hear from her by e-mail. and she did want to see the video. >> scrutinizing the incident, ayesha realizes a sudden change of wind was to blame. >> when the wind just turned, i saw that on the video. at this point with the wind the fire just came back in my face.

>> the woman who burst into flames and the woman who caught it on camera have never met until this day. >> hi, sherry. >> after that night of trauma, ayesha might have stopped playing with fire, but instead the accident only reignited her passion. >> do i want to quit that world, do i want to continue? if i was looking inside of me, it's something i really like to do, and i couldn't stop. >> shortly after her recovery, ayesha's back dazzling fans with fire. >> i'm amazed that she continues to do it, to be able to come back after having such an accident and do it again i think is a testament to her professionalism. >> that said, ayesha has a few words of caution. >> in every show i always tell the people don't try that at home because it's very dangerous.

coming up -- a nasty crash sends a race car flying. >> when he went upside down, the car just kind of burst into flames. and later, you won't believe who's behind the wheel of this van. >> we're leaving, and she's driving. i'm drunk. every month on the dot. you're like the poster child for paying on time. and then one day you tap the bumper of a station wagon. no big deal... until your insurance company jacks up your rates. you freak out. what good is having insurance if you get punished for using it? hey insurance companies, news flash. nobody's perfect. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. introducing... a pm pain reliever that dares to work all the way until... the am. new aleve pm the only one to combine a safe sleep aid

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make the best entertainment part of your holidays. catch all the hottest handpicked titles on the winter watchlist, only with xfinity from comcast. three race cars collide. leaving one driver trapped in a raging inferno. >> oh, my god! >> dirt track racing. it's a fan favorite in oklahoma. videographer corey seibert says you'll often see fans of all kinds in the crowd, cheering on the racers. >> come out on saturday night, bring your girlfriend, bring your family. there's tons of kids out here. it's noisy, dirty fun. >> but dirt track racing is also a dangerous sport. on wet, slick dirt cars reach

top speeds of 140 miles an hour. >> the risk is pretty great if somebody loses control. there's a lot of momentum, these are big cars, heavy cars. >> it's not a sport for the faint hearted. kip hughes is a top driver. he's been racing since he was a boy and knows that at any time an accident can be just around the corner. >> if it bothers you, you put it all aside and try not to think about the fact that it really happened and just be prepared for when it does happen. >> despite the danger or perhaps because of it excitement is in the air the night of october 1st, 2011 at oklahoma sports park. it's the stock car nationals. larry carr is the announcer for the big event. >> we had cars there this time from three different states. it's a three-day event. it builds up over the three days to the big night of saturday night. >> hundreds of fans are on hand to watch the drivers compete for a $10,000 prize. >> 10,000 for the guy that

crosses the finish line. that's big money for guys in this sport. these guys run for 500 to 750 a night to win. you put 10,000 on the line, they're going to be willing to push the edge a little bit. >> far and away the favorite to win is driver kip hughes. >> he won it last year and was picking up the lead in most qualifying events. >> the drivers gear up for the final race of the night. 20 cars will do 50 laps of the track. among the riders is terry muskrat. >> terry muskrat is a driver that people all over the state know and love. super nice guy, he's been racing for a long time. >> at the start of the race, corey seibert is at his perch ready to film the event. >> here at oklahoma sports park, i actually shoot multiple cameras and i do a live stream on the internet. >> larry is high above the track ready to call the race. everything starts off smoothly, but midway through, there's trouble. >> the first thing i saw kind of out of the corner of my eye on the left side of my frame was a

car kind of getting out of shape. looked like he was going to lose control or slide sideways. i spun my camera over to catch whatever was going to happen. >> coming off turn four things started to get crazy. >> as the cars round a sharp turn, one of them slams into the wall. >> that car hit the wall first causing the car behind him to then rather -- rear end him, knocking him kind of sideways. then the car behind that, causing that car to roll. >> as the yellow car skids to a stop, terry muskrat's car, number 64, plows straight into it. then the car behind terry rams him and sends terry's car rolling. >> oh, my god! >> terry's car bursts into flames. >> the thing that was not normal for a crash was how quickly the car caught on fire. usually a fire will start in the front of the car or rear of the car and kind of spread. when he went upside down the car just kind of burst into flames all over the car.

>> the next minute is terrifying. >> there's a lot of screaming, people yelling. >> everyone please stay back. >> people start rushing down towards the fence to see or get close. >> you cannot be of any assistance to us. >> at any moment the car could explode. safety personnel rush to the track to try to douse the flames. >> we'll take care the drivers the best we can. >> the safety crew gets to the car as quick as they can and try to spray down the fire, to get the fire under control. >> driver terry muskrat struggles to free himself from the wreckage. >> terry muskrat's car gets engulfed in the flame. he's trying to get out of the car. can't seem to get himself out. it was scary, very scary. >> the fire is proving too hot for safety officials who haven't had time to put on protective clothing. suddenly someone wearing a fire suit runs into the flames. >> at this point, i see a driver run over. >> it's kip hughes. >> here comes kip hughes out of nowhere. he runs to the side of terry's car and starts working trying to get terry out of the car.

>> i just jumped in there and did what i had to do. >> to get terry out, kip has to dislodge the safety net. >> i was just trying to get the window net down and help him get out so we could get going. >> then kip must help terry unhook his seat belts. >> he was upside down. he was having trouble getting his belts to release. you got to find something to push up, take the weight off of him. >> as kip rips at the safety net, terry finally releases i -- the seat belts. immediately, kip pulls him through the window. >> i just grabbed hold of him under his arm and by his belt. >> i saw kip drag him out of the car and take him away to the fence to get him out of the smoke, out of the fire. >> he's out! he's okay! >> it's an unbelievable sight, terry muskrat is alive and kip falls to his knees in exhaustion and relief. >> yeah, real lucky. thankful for kip. i was glad to see him help me get out of there.

>> oh, man! >> it kind of hit me emotionally this is not your normal crash. this is a lot more than that. >> up in the announcer's booth larry carr also struggles to keep his composure. >> i'm just struck speechless by what's just happened. it's very phenomenal, very hard to explain what has just taken place. >> incredibly terry has only suffered some bruises and a slight burn on his hand. as the crowd celebrates his rescue, workers remove his car from the track. the race continues, but without terry and kip. >> kip decided to just kind of, you know, bow out and take it easy and just relax the rest of the night after, obviously, a harrowing situation. >> later that night, he posts the fiery video. it has an instant impact. >> it was on youtube before i got home. people were calling me and telling me about it. >> kip sees the video as a reminder of the danger he faces. he knows at any time he could be the one in need of rescue.

>> there's a chance that i could be upside down and on fire and i hope somebody comes to help me out. >> he's out. he's okay! coming up -- soaring through the air behind a boat. it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. and a young man dashes in front of a speeding train. the holiday season is here, which means it's time for the volkswagen sign-then-drive event. for practically just your signature, you could drive home for the holidays in a german-engineered volkswagen. like the sporty, advanced new jetta... and the 2015 motor trend car of the year all-new golf. if you're wishing for a new volkswagen this season... just about all you need is a finely tuned... pen. get zero due at signing, zero down, zero deposit, and zero first month's payment on select new volkswagen models. alright, so this tylenol arthritis lasts 8 hours,

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some friends try out a new water sport. and get a lot more than they bargained for. >> that's when he skyrocketed down. >> chris adams lives on lake harris in florida. name your water sport, and you can bet that he'll grab a bunch of friends and do it. >> it's a beautiful, big lake. we'll take the boat out and we'll go slalom skiing, knee boarding, wakeboarding. >> in 2006 he discovers a new water sport. kite tubing.

it's a cross between water skiing and, well, flying. >> basically after a certain speed the kite tube will gain lift and fly behind the boat. >> soon chris invites his friends to the lake to try out his new toy. >> chris called me up one day and said, hey, i got this kite tube. you sit on it kind of like a jet ski and it has a 15-foot wing span, and you can actually get, you know, 10, 20, 30 feet of air. i was like, count me in. >> what really excited me about kite tubing was the adrenaline rush i knew would come from it that looked amazingly fun. >> one by one, they all tried to master this strange sport. but it's hard. >> you've just got to grip it and rip it. just take a chance once in a while. >> finally it's chase rushing's turn. and he can really do it. >> i was excited. i was going higher and higher. it's an awesome feeling. really, you're just flying.

>> i watched chase go up in the air. i'm thinking to myself, dang, there that boy goes again, he's always a natural at everything he does. sure enough there he is flying the dang manta ray going 25 feet up in the air. >> we were really excited that people were able to get that high. it was remarkable because none of us had even gotten close to that. >> for almost a minute chase soars high above the boat, but then everything changes. >> i'm getting a little bit scared and it's too high. i feel like i need to come down. i started to climb towards the front of the tube and signal slow down. >> we could see that he was pointing down that he wanted the boat to slow down a bit. >> that's when the driver of the boat slowed the boat down and maybe faster than he should have. >> the boat loses too much speed too quickly and chase smashes down head first. >> the kite tube went from 25, 30 feet up in the air down to zero in a matter of two seconds. >> there's nothing i can do because my body is full length

stretched in the air. i didn't want to break my neck. i knew this was going to hurt. all of a sudden my heels came next to my ears. my body collapsed on itself the wrong way that a body should fold. then i hit the water. it was probably 45 miles an hour. when you hit water at that speed, it's real hard. it's like asphalt. >> for a moment, the guys think it's funny. the kite tube flies off into the air without chase. >> it was hysterical to see this kite tube with our friend trying to ride it and it just takes a dive and smacks against the lake. chase was holding on and his legs were pointed up in the sky and it was just funny. >> but then the guys realize chase may be hurt. >> it quickly switched from being funny to, oh, my god, is he okay? he just smacked his head. >> we saw him just kind of lying in the water there still. so he's definitely unconscious for just a few seconds. and we immediately went into,

you know, crisis mode. >> the guys quickly jump into the water and get chase back into the boat. then they call it quits. for chase, a minute in the air turns out to be painful. >> i was hurt. i was hurt very bad. i went to eight chiropractic visits. i had electrotherapy on my lower right back muscles. i still have problems today with my lower back. >> that's the last time chase, chris or any of their friends go kite tubing. >> after that we did the normal water sports like wakeboarding and kneeboarding. >> and we sold it on ebay a week later. here's something you should never, ever try. a young man dashes in front of a speeding train. will he make it? april 2011. an express commuter train in adelaide, australia, is traveling down the tracks at almost 60 miles per hour. it's passing through the maoson

lake station when someone comes running from behind the train stopped on the opposite track. security camera footage from inside the train captures the moment. before the driver can react, the young man is running across the tracks. in a split-second, he disappeared from the driver's line of sight. the driver hits the brakes and the train comes to a halt well past the station, but what happened to the young man? as the train comes in to the station, the young man dives for the opposite platform. a daring move. just as he falls out of view of the camera on board the train, he comes into view on a security camera at the station. he makes it on to the platform by mere millimeters. but he doesn't escape harm completely. when the train speeds by, it clips and breaks his ankle. authorities release the footage during national rail safety week. police say the unidentified

17-year-old was trying to change platforms. he was arrested and convicted of stopping a train in motion without a reasonable excuse. coming up, a dad decides he's too drunk to drive. >> i'm drunk. -- breaking away from our programming to bring you this news conference as soon as it starts. you see that on the right on your screen to bring you the latest on two nypd police officers killed in an ambush attack in brooklyn. video from that scene on the left of your screen. it happened as the two police officers were sitting in their patrol car in the bedford station. here's what we know about this gunman so far. this is information that has not

been independently confirmed by nbc news. the motive for this gunman appears to be anger at the police in wake of the recent events of two grand jury's not indicting white police officering in the killing of young black males. even some calls from these protesters to harm police officers. well, officials believe that this gunman shot also and injured his girlfriend in baltimore and then posted an instagram message that said they take one of ours, let's take two of theirs. also posting a photo of what appears to be a firearm there and also what appears to be himself as far as he is wearing camouflage on his instagram. he went to brooklyn armed with that 9 millimeter gun which he used to ambush the officers.

as of now, police believe he acted alone. we are expecting to hear from new york police commissioner bill bratton also new york mayor bill de blasio. that's taking place at woodville hospital where the two police officers were brought and declared dead. so this is the situation happening, the breaking news that we are following out of brooklyn with two new york city police officers dead after that ambush style attack in brooklyn. we know that those two police officers were sitting in their marked vehicle, that they were in uniform, when this gunman wasn went up and shot through the window, killing them in that scenario. we want to bring in a former atf agent. given the tensions between the public and police and the calls to harm police, what was your reaction when you heard about

this? >> just absolutely heartbreaking. just a cold-blooded murder of police officers out there doing their duty and should be and will be, i'm sure, condemned in the strongest terms by every right thinking american. absolutely unbelievable. it makes you sick to your stomach that these officers were ambushed and killed like this. this guy shot his girlfriend in baltimore in your lead-up. he had a firearm. he's a violent guy, a maniac. he thought he was going to ambush police officers by gravitating to some cause he thinks justifies that. it just makes you sick to your stomach. violence is not the answer to any question. just awful. terrible night for the nypd and for america. >> it is one thing to bring harm to police as some people have

been calling for, but so brazen. in the middle of the day, this happened at 3:00 in the afternoon in bed-stuy. walking up to their marked cruiser with these two uniformed police officers and shooting. can't imagine it getting any worse than that. >> no, it's absolutely unbelievable. i was a uniformed officer. when you wear a uniform, you're in a marked car, everybody knows who you are. everybody knows who you are. they know who you are when you're having lunch or standing in the street, and you don't know who they are. you don't know their intent. it is just like the person that attacked the four nypd officers with a hatchet the last month or so. an attack can come at any moment. officers accept that risk to wear the badge, but this is just

outrageous. we'd like to have justice in the case. now the guy commits suicide because he was followed quickly by other responding officers who did an excellent job to apprehend him. he could have killed again. >> given the divide between the public and the police and the grand jury out of ferguson, missouri, not indicting officer darren wilson there as well, what kind of extra precautions would members of the police force in the city and around the country take for themselves for any harm being done to them or other members of the force? >> well, you know the strongest protection that police have is to have the citizens on their side. we have to separate citizens who protest lawfully and maybe critical police operations and critical certain cases. that's what we have in a democracy, the right to speak out. but when you have people who try

to incite violence or edicts to kill officers whether that's from st. louis to new york to the west coast, those people are inciting violence or trying to egg on violence. charges could be brought against people who start that. we can't go there in a democracy. you have to have the citizens on your side to police, and that's your strongest weapon against the violence is somebody would notice people who are inciting it or people who say they are going to do it or say it to a neighbor. most of the people in the country, even today, despite criticizing police, want police in their neighborhood. want police to do the right thing, and they're behind the police. that's the strongest defense is interaction with the citizens in your neighborhood. >> it makes it more chilling when you hear this gunman's post on social media. they take one of ours, let's take two of theirs. referencing the two police

officers that were killed ambush style on the streets of brooklyn new york in the bedford stuyvesant area. this gunman who approached them in their marked vehicle, in their uniforms, shot these two police officers, died from their wounds. we understand that the gunman ran to a nearby subway station, went inside where he killed himself, so frightening all across the board for so many people, people that were there and heard these gunshots in their neighborhood. and of course, now that we're hearing more news, the tensions here between police and protests and that may have been a motive

here to avenge the deaths of eric garner and michael brown and to kill in revenge for that, even more chilling. we are awaiting that press conference there. that is at wood hill hospital where these two police officers were taken and where they were pronounced dead after this shooting here. we have repeatedly heard from the families of eric garner during these protests, asking the public to protest peacefully. this is what we have seen so far, days after many protests around the country. we've been seeing these protests and die-ins. is expected the right word to use as far as police -- in some sense, they have to kind of expect and prepare for the worst to happen in this case.

was it just a matter of time before some kind of act like this would happen against police? >> law enforcement officers are always on their guard when the country is in the middle of any kind of strife. they're always on the front line, you know, the thin blue line, so they know those things are afoot. but they're not expecting to be ambushed and murdered in their police cars. clearly, like the las vegas officers that were ambushed when they were eating lunch just recently. no, they're not looking or expecting to be ambushed at every moment, but tensions were high on these issues. in some neighborhoods more than others, but the police are there policing the neighborhoods day in and day out regardless. they're walking with the protesters. they're doing everything they have to do even in the face of intense criticism. that goes to say to the greatness of american policing

as well. there's criticism sometimes deserved, but we have to look at what they do for us day in and day out for us all the time. >> i can't help but wonder what was going on in the mind of this gunman. it wasn't as if these grand jury indictments just came out. what happens in the mind of a killer to say i'm going to travel from baltimore to new york city, pick the neighborhood of bedford sty to commit this act? what are the circumstances? what can happen as far as triggering something like this. >> this guy, he's a violent criminal. shot his girlfriend. he's a loser, and he gravitates to some national issue that he then posts on that he's going to take on and commit violence in

the name of it. we have seen that in terrorist attacks by single one-off guys. we have seen it in abortion clinic violence where somebody who is not involved in that issue starts bombing the clinics or just any matter of violence that people take up a cause that's not part of their milieu, but they seem to gravitate toward it. and the reason they do is they get some legitimate si they think because of a legitimate cause. it just happens to be police issue. they can gravitate to that and then strike out violently and think that gives them some righteousness, which of course it doesn't because of nothing. they get no righteousness from a cold-blooded murder. violence can never be justified, never is justified, and neither is the calling for violence.

those who call for violence must be dealt within the justice system as well as inciting people to do murder or harm. that's the line, francis. if you want to be critical of the government, go ahead. if you want to be critical of the police, go ahead. that's a democracy. if you want to protest peacefully, that's the 60s. but violence? that's different. we may have to interrupt our conversation to go to the press conference. there's also the new dimension as far as social media here. what he posted there, a photo of his hand gun, a photo of him -- there is some movement here at wood hall hospital, so we're hearing that it may be a minute before the police commissioner will be speaking. we don't have it confirmed whether the mayor, bill de

blasio, will be speaking, but he may do so. we see the mayor right now. stand by there, jim. take you hear to wood hall hospital where the mayor is there expected to speak about the shooting deaths of these two police officers here in brooklyn new york. you can see they're about to speak. once that happens, we'll take you in there. the gunman in this scenario ran from that scene after shooting the two police officers in their cruisers, went inside a subway station, and took his own life. shot himself. let's listen in now. >> the mayor and i have just come from visiting with the families of our two murdered police officers. it's a time of great emotion, great passion. and so please bear with us as we

try to bring some sense to the madness that occurred this afternoon on the streets of brooklyn. it's sometimes difficult to find the words to speak to events like those that occurred today, to try to make sense of them, but we'll try. today two of new york's finest were shot and killed with no warning, no provocation. they were quite simply assassinated, targeted for their uniform, and for the responsibility they embraced to keep the people of this city safe. at approximately 2:47 p.m. today, the police officers were assigned to a critical response vehicle, crvs as we refer to them, in the confines of the 79

precinct. while crv is traditionally used for counterterrorism operations, this past may we also assigned some vehicles to housing developments throughout the city. developments that had seen an increase in violence in the early part of the year like the thompkins houses where the officers were stationed. while sitting in a marked nypd police car in full uniform, both were ambushed and murdered in front of 98 tarpins avenue into the bedford sty area of brooklyn of new york city. both officers were assigned to the a-4 precinct but were posted at this location as part of a department crime reduction strategy to address complaints of violence in the area of the housing developments in that

area. officer ramos was in the drivers seat and officer lou was in the passenger seat. the suspect, who has been identified as 28-year-old ishmael brinsley, walked up to the police car. he took a shooting stance on the passenger side and fired his weapon several times through the front passenger window, striking both officers in the head. officer lou and officer ramos never had the opportunity to draw their weapons. they may never have actually seen their assailant. other officers who were also assigned to the crv post immediately pursued him south on tarpins avenue. he then turn eed westbound on myrtle avenue and fled into the station. he proceeded down the stairs

onto the westbound subway platform. while on the platform, brinsley shot himself in the head, took his own life. officers lou and ramos were transported here to wood hall hospital. despite every effort to save their lives, both officers tragically succumbed to their injuries. i extend my deepest condolences to lou and the ramos families and the families within the nypd. both officers paid the ultimate sacrifice today while protecting the communities they serve. the suspect was transported to brooklyn hospital where he was pronounced dead. we are currently continuing to investigate this incident. i want to thank at this time a

doctor and his trauma staff for their valiant efforts but unsuccessful efforts to resuscitate our officers. some background information leading up to the events of today, at approximately 5:45 this morning at baltimore county, maryland, a female believed to be his girlfriend was shot and seriously wounded by brinsley at her residence. baltimore county detectives later received information from the victim's mother that brin brinsley was posting on the victim's instagram account. he may have had associations with the east flatbush area of br brooklyn. at approximately 2:45 this afternoon, baltimore authorities sent a warning flier to the nypd and other agencies. tragically, this was essentially at the same time as our officers

were being ambushed and murdered by brinsley. tragically too, this is not the first time this department has seen such violence. seven times since 1972, we have seen partnered murdered together, often in incidents such as this, mindless assassinations without warning. our officers know this from memorial walls on our precincts and headquarters. nevertheless, they do what we expect of them. they grieve. they mourn, but then they go out onto the streets of this city and work to keep it safe every day and every night. we have never and never will forget that mission. we will never forget the two young men who lost their lives today. mr. mayor? >> thank you, commissioner.

our city is in mourning. our hearts are heavy. we lost two good men who devoted their lives to protecting all of us. officer ramos, officer lou died in the line of duty, protecting the city they loved. our hearts go out to their families, to their comrades in arms at the 84 precinct, to the larger family of the nypd. we honor the emts, the doctors, the nurses, everyone at wood hall who tried valiantly to save their lives and couldn't. i want to thank everyone who came here today to support these families that are in such pain right now all the leadership of

the nypd, the elected officials that are here, i thank them for coming here in solidarity with these grieving families and our police department. although we are still learning the details, it's officers were shot, execution style. particularly, decembspicable ac that goes to the heart of our society, our democracy where a police officer is murdered, it tears at the foundation of our society. it is an attack on all of us. it is an attack on everything we hold dear. we depend on our police to protect us against forces of criminality and evil. they are a foundation of our

society and when they are attacked, it is an attack on the very concept of decency. every new yorker should feel they were attacked, our entire city was attacked by this heinous individual. even though the assailant took his own life, we'll be vigilant for any information about anyone else who might be involved. and this is a point to make clear to all my fellow new yorkers that anytime anyone has information that there might be an attack on our police, there might be an act of violence directed at any police officer, it is imperative that that be reported immediately. you heard the commissioner outline the tragic timeline.

but anybody who sees anything online or an intention to hurt police, call 9-1-1, report to a police officer. but whatever the situation, that information must get into the hands of the police immediately so we can protect the lives of our police officers and in fact, of all of us since they protect us. there has a sadness that is very, very hard to describe. commissioner bratton has felt it many times. i have felt it many times. we met the family members. we met parents of officer lou. the woman he recently married. we met a wife of officer ramos. we met his 13-year-old son who couldn't comprehend what had happened to his father.

and with other public servants and with leaders of this police department, we prayed over the bodies of these two officers. and i ask that all new yorkers pray for them, pray for their families. it's a moment of terrible loss and it's a moment when we must all come together to support these families. support healing. and to be thankful that there are heroes among us like officer ramos and officer lou. i'd like to say a few words in spanish as well. [ speaking spanish ]

>> we can take a few questions from you, yes. [ inaudible ] >> there is no more emotional time in the life of a police officer in policing than when a death occurs. the death of this nature, an

assassination, that it's unlike any other type of emotion. it's hard to deal with. it's hard to get your arms around. the grief that the mayor and i just experienced, it's what the family is going through and then i met with the officers from the precinct, the officers of the two deceased officers. it is not easy. not easy at all. and i've dealt with this too many times over 44 years. you always hope that you're never going to experience it again. and the idea of a double tragedy. here we are coming into christmas week where we celebrate a birth, a birth that has changed history for 2,000 years. and instead this week now in this city, in this department, we're going to be mourning. we're going to be dealing with

the death of two young men that fulfilled their dreams to these police officers. officer lou, two months ago was married. and officer ramos, a school safety officer and finally fulfilled his dreams of becoming a new york city police officer three years ago and had his 40th birthday on december 12th. you try to put your mind around it. you try to make sense of it and you really can't. it's going to be a tough time for the men and women of this department. a tough time for the new york city police department. and that's what cops do, it's not easy. >> does this attack stem from

antipolice sentiment by this individual as it has been reported and allegedly posted on social media? >> there were postings apparently by the individual, we believe, on instagram. the instagram account of the woman that was wounded in baltimore. and part of our investigation will be to determine what was the motivation to the best of our understanding. the instagram postings, antipolice, will seek to go back overtime into the suspect's life into whether there were other postings, whether he had accounts of his own. the ones we're aware of this afternoon as he is coming towards new york that those are part of multiple investigations that are now under way to try and make sense what was his

motivation to come to new york and murder two new york city police officers. >> it seems to me that he came to new york with the sole purpose of assassinating police officers. >> that is a part of what we will attempt to determine. some of the postings i understand are out there would seem to indicate that he had a very strong bias against police officers and as to whether that was the principal motivation with him and the girlfriend this morning, we'll try in our investigation to determine what was the actual motivation. >> is there any other connectio connections? >> georgia, but an appehe appea

move around. he has some connectivity to brooklyn, but i won't go into the specifics of that at that time. we're still really trying to put together his movements and where he's been over the last days and weeks and months. one at a time, please. >> what connections, if any, does he have to any organized groups? >> we have no sense at this time that there's any connectivity to terrorist groups, an act of terrorism. we see nothing of that nature at this particular time. commissioner miller and his people are certainly looking at that aspect of it. chief detectives will be leading the criminal investigation, but we're not seeing a connectivity to any organized entity at this time. but we will do as much as we can as quickly as we can on this

individual. >> are there others like him? >> we may be concerned, the call several weeks ago after four young officers were attacked by the individual with a hatchet. our investigation clearly indicated that that was an act of terrorism. that that individual had become inspired to commit that act by con continual. and then putting out about the lone wolf of type of attacks that encourage our officers to work in pairs, increase the security around station houses. so one of the unfortunate realities of policing is that you put that blue uniform on and you become part of that thin blue line between us and anarchy. and from time to time, we