Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) said Monday that anger over the fatal shooting of two New York City police officers in Brooklyn should be directed at the “insane” gunman, not at Mayor Bill de Blasio (D).
Appearing on MSNBC’s “The Rundown,” Rangel said that police union leaders should be giving interviews about how to prevent “insane” people from acquiring firearms rather than criticizing de Blasio in the press.
“Yes, we got problems in our family,” Rangel said, referring to the relationship between law enforcement, city government and residents. “But we shouldn’t be pointing fingers at each other when someone is murdered, especially by an insane person.”
MSNBC host Craig Melvin pointed out that while it’s been reported that the suspected gunman, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, was arrested 19 times and spent two years in prison, there’s been no evidence to date that Brinsley was clinically insane.
“I mean, you don’t have to go to school to understand that anyone that shoots his girlfriend, and then comes here and he shoots two cops and he’s screaming and yelling [is insane],” Rangel countered.
“The fact is that the guy is not thinking clearly,” he added. “You can say he has medical difficulties, mental difficulties, but two human beings were shot dead. We should not be pointing fingers at the mayor of the city of New York.”
