It was kind of a long day today, especially after a short night’s sleep. I was up late watching the fireworks. Everything last night went as planned – perhaps even better than planned because I accidently caught an express 4 train back. I’d tell you about the decision between walking the almost mile back from the station or taking the bus (the bus was the right choice, given the time and place), but there’s bigger story here, one I’m not sure made the news in other places.

I first heard about it on the radio at 1:30am: Police officer shot in attack in the Bronx. Then again at 3:30am: Police officer fatally shot in ambush in the Bronx. Then at 5:30: Police form slow motorcade to escort the body of a slain officer from the hospital to the city morgue. An on-the-scene reporter described the motorcade, motorcycles out front, lights flashing. You could hear the helicopter overhead. I could see that helicopter in the distance still hovering over the area when my train passed just before eight this morning.

The reporter mentioned the officer’s name in the report. Afterward, the anchor mentioned that they were given her name by someone, but it hadn’t officially been released yet. Then, moments later, it was released: Officer Miosotis Familia.

The area of the Bronx where this occurred is not far from here, only about two miles. If I walk around the reservoir, I am almost halfway there. Three of us living in this apartment had a brief discussion about it. The area is known for drugs and gang violence. Wanting to fill in some details, I searched on the internet for some updated stories. I first turned to this article in the NY Times, a trusted source in my mind. Then, because I was on the Google News page, I clicked on a Fox News story, to see how coverage varied. While both reports talked about the gang related violence in the area, (which is in fact, that is why Officer Familia was there in the first place – there has been a mobile police unit perpetually in the area for about three and a half months), only the Times article mentions the link to the shooter’s mental illness. In fact, the Times article goes into some depth about it, including some history and an interview with a relative of the shooter. Fox News, however, makes no mention of mental illness at all. I read all nine articles which contain the name Miosotis, including the one about the shooter, on their site. Make of that what you will. What narrative are they going for? This article, and this article, and this article, and this article, and this article, and this article (two thirds of the related stories published today) suggest one. If you don’t want to wade through all those links, this one sums it up.

One other connection – Officer Familia lived with her three daughters and her mother, who she was caring for, in Building A of my apartment complex.