Officer Miosotis Familia had only been working the late-night shift for three weeks before she was assassinated by a gunman shortly after completing her 4th of July shift. The 48-year-old mother wanted more time to spend with her children during the day, reports the New York Daily News.
Familia’s sister Adriana Sanchez said her sibling requested to swap her usual shift because she wanted to have as much time as possible with her 12-year-old twins during the summer. She was also the mother to a 20-year-old daughter.
–NYPD officer assassinated while sitting in police vehicle–
Unfortunately, that very change in shift eventually led her to cross paths with her killer, Alexander Bonds, who fired one round into Familia’s police vehicle, fatally striking the 12-year veteran.
Familia, who lived just a few short miles from where she was shot, loved being a police officer, her sister said.
“She loved it. That’s what her dream was, to become a police officer,” Sanchez said. “She was very like a tough girl. She said she wanted to protect the city from all those crazies, and look what happened.
“She even told me, ‘You should become a police officer,’ and I said, ‘No, I’ll probably run away from a shooting.’”
Familia’s murder has shaken not only her fellow policemen but the greater New York City community, which rallied together to mourn her death.
Bonds, the shooter, who posted several anti-police messages on social media, was eventually shot and killed by responding officers.