Very tragic news out of New York City this Saturday afternoon: 2 NYPD police officers 'assassinated'; shooter dead:

New York (CNN) -- Officer Rafael Ramos sat in the driver's seat. Officer Wenjian Liu was at his side.

The two cops weren't at their usual precinct -- normally, the pair was assigned to downtown Brooklyn, but they were working a "critical response" detail in an area with higher crime, police said.

That's where they were slain, ambush-style -- Saturday afternoon as they sat in their patrol car, New York Police Commissioner William Bratton said at an evening news conference.

The gunman approached the passenger side of the patrol car and took a shooting stance, witnesses told police. He opened fire several times, striking both officers in the head, Bratton said.

They were "shot and killed with no warning, no provocation," Bratton told reporters. "They were quite simply, assassinated."

The gunman was found dead in a nearby subway station from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. [...]

Police identified the shooter as Ismaaiyl Brinsley.

He arrived in New York from Baltimore, but had a residence in Atlanta. Bratton said that Brinsley was somehow connected to Brooklyn, but would not discuss that information.

Bratton said at this time, there was no indication Brinsley was connected to any terrorist groups or organized entity.

Police were investigating posts Brinsley allegedly made on social media. Bratton said that the suspect had earlier shot and seriously wounded a woman believed to be his ex-girlfriend in Baltimore.

Baltimore police received information that Brinsley had made threatening comments about police, and sent a warning to police in New York, Bratton said.

That message came almost the same time the ambush happened.

Of course, the right is going crazy and blaming Mayor Bill deBlasio and Al Sharpton for the deaths: Two NYC Police Officers Assassinated ‘Execution Style’:

The 28-year-old gunman, identified as Ismaaiyl Brinsley, “ambushed and murdered” two officers, shooting them point-blank in the head as they sat in their patrol car in Brooklyn before killing himself at a nearby subway platform, NYC Police Commissioner William J. Bratton said at a press conference. The officers were identified as Wenjian Liu, a seven-year veteran of the force, and Rafael Ramos, who has been with the force since 2012.

Fighting back tears, New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio described the murders as “an assassination” that were carried out in “execution style.” The loss, he said, “goes at the very heart of our society, our democracy.” “When 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 all we hold dear,” DeBlasio explained. “Our entire city was attacked by this heinous individual.”

Brinsley, who had a long criminal record, also shot his girlfriend earlier that morning in Baltimore County, Maryland. [...]

Civil rights activists, who have called for reforms in police practices and the justice system in the aftermath of the Brown and Garner murders swiftly condemned the killing. “Any use of the names of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, in connection with any violence or killing of police, is reprehensible and against the pursuit of justice in both cases,” Rev. Al Sharpton said in a statement. [...]

National Review editor Richard Lowry blamed Ferguson protesters for the killing:

Other conservatives quickly piled on:

Here's more from Raw Story: WATCH: NYC police officers turn backs on Mayor de Blasio following shooting death of two officers:

New York City police officers, already at war with recently elected Mayor Bill de Blasio, turned their backs on the mayor as he entered the police press conference to address the shooting deaths of two officers in Brooklyn, PIX 11 reports.

Two officers were killed “execution style” as they sat in their squad car in a Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood Saturday afternoon.

According to Police Commissioner William Bratton, the shooter, identified as Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, took a shooter’s stance on the passenger side of the squad car and opened fire on the two officers with a silver semi-automatic handgun.

Invited to attend the press conference to discuss the shooting, Mayor de Blassio was greeted by hallways filled with police officers who turned their backs on the mayor as he and his entourage made their way to the press room.

New York police officers have been in conflict with the mayor following the choking death of Eric Garner. Read on...

UPDATE: And if anyone is wondering how ugly things got over at Faux "news" here's Jeanine Pirro, Bernie Kerik and that crazy Bo Dietl attacking the mayor.