Following the fatal shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown by Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson in August, racial tensions have been at a high across America, with violence in Florida and L.A. on Sunday in the form of shots being fired directly at cops.
Police departments nationwide — who are already on heightened alert following the ambush style killing of two NYPD cops last week — suffered more gun violence. In L.A., police are searching for a gunman who opened fire on an LAPD patrol car as it drove in South Central L.A. on Sunday night.
The Washington Times reported that the officers, who were uninjured, returned fire, but no one was hit. However, one suspect was arrested and a rifle was recovered, according to LAPD Capt. Lillian Carranza , who spoke to CNN.
In another shooting incident in Pasco County, Florida, three shots were fired at two sheriff’s deputies as they were sitting inside their squad cars at 3:30 a.m. Sunday in Dade City.
The sheriff’s office told reporters, “Both deputies reported hearing the whizzing sound of each projectile as they flew by. Deputies did not see the suspect or the vehicle from which the shots were fired.”
The shootings came just one day after an estimated 23,000 police officers attended the funeral for Rafael Ramos, one of two NYPD officers killed in Brooklyn. Controversy arose when officers turned their backs on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s eulogy.
According to New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton, the rift between the NYPD and de Blasio will continue for the foreseeable future.
“I think it’s probably a rift that is going to go on for a while longer,” Bratton said.
Cops across America are hoping that the flames will die down soon, as police departments across the country find themselves double guessing themselves, and treating the slightest suspicious person with even more caution.