Shooting Leaves Two NYPD Officers Dead in Brooklyn (Updated)

Two NYPD officers were shot while sitting inside of their police cruiser this afternoon, authorities say. 

The New York Daily News reports that the officers were ambushed in front of the Tompkins Houses in the borough's Bedford-Stuyvesant section around 3 p.m.:

The perp came out of the houses, walked up behind the car and lit them up,” a high-ranking police official told the Daily News.

At least four witnesses who saw the shooting provided an identical account to a Daily News reporter, but declined to provide their names.

The Daily News adds that both officers were rushed to Woodhull Hospital. Although their conditions could not be confirmed, a police source told the Daily News that one officer was shot in the head. 

UPDATE: According to the New York Times, both officers have died. The Associated Press adds that the suspect fled into a nearby subway station where he shot himself in the head. 

Hours prior the shooting, these two posts were uploaded to Instagram. The account, dontrunup, has since been deleted.

Shortly before the account was deleted, the following message was posted: 

Then, well after the shooting, and well after he died, someone posted this on his Instagram. Then deleted the account pic.twitter.com/oyCk9wys3W

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) December 20, 2014

UPDATE #2: According to the Associated Press, the suspect has been identified as 28-year-old Ismaaiyl Brinsley. NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said that Brinsley shot and seriously wounded an ex-girlfriend near Baltimore yesterday morning, then drove to New York City. The officers have been identified as 40-year-old Rafael Ramos and 32-year-old Wenjian Liu. 

During a press conference, Bratton said Ramos and Liu were "quite simply, assassinated." 

President Obama also released a statement expressing deep dismay over the incident: 

The officers who serve and protect our communities risk their own safety for ours every single day — and they deserve our respect and gratitude every single day. Tonight, I ask people to reject violence and words that harm, and turn to words that heal — prayer, patient dialogue, and sympathy for the friends and family of the fallen.

[via New York Daily News, Associated Press and New York Times]