Ex-girlfriend of NYPD gunman is Pope Army Airfield Reservist
FAYETTEVILLE (WTVD) -- A local airman was the first victim in the weekend shooting rampage that ended in the execution-style murders of two New York Police Department officers.
Staff Sgt.Shaneka Thompson, 29, is an Air Force Reservist assigned to the 440th Medical Squadron at Pope Army Airfield. She is a medical administrator, who prepares records for airmen prior to their deployment.
Thompson was shot in her Owings Mills, Maryland apartment early Saturday morning. The shooter was her ex-boyfriend, 28-year-old Ismaaiyl Brinsley, who authorities said accessed Thompson's apartment with a key "he wasn't supposed to have." After he shot Thompson in the abdomen, Brinsley traveled from Baltimore to Brooklyn. Hours later, Brinsley shot and killed two NYPD officers execution-style, before killing himself.
Thompson, who was in Maryland working for the VA Medical Center, remains in critical condition. Authorities believe she is key to finding out what led Brinsley on the shooting spree.
Prior to the New York shootings, Brinsley used social media, including Thompson's Instagram account, expressing desire to retaliate against police for the recent officer-involved killings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown. He'd also called Thompson's mother from the woman's cell phone, saying "he shot her by accident" and he "hopes she lives."
In Fayetteville, Thompson's unit and neighbors are hoping for her full recovery.
"We've been in contact with her family, and we are concerned about her welfare and well-being," said Maj. Lisa Ray, a spokeswoman with the 440th Airlift Wing.
"I'm shocked," said her neighbor, Winfred Williams. "She always would walk [around the neighborhood]. She'd tell me to come out there and sometimes walk the neighborhood with her because she stays fit."
"I never thought something like this would happen to her."
Williams said Thompson lived in their Fayetteville neighborhood for about a year before moving to Maryland over the summer. They are both South Carolina natives.
Williams said he can't make sense of the rampage, and hopes Thompson will recover soon.
"To me, it's sickening."
