Police on High Alert Following NYC Shooting That Killed 2 Officers

Police in several areas of the U.S. are reportedly on hire alert following a weekend attack that killed two officers as they sat in their squad car on Saturday in New York City.

Law enforcement authorities in other major cities on the east coast, including Washington D.C., have sent out bulletins in local police units, reminding them to remain vigilant at all times they are on duty, even if they are simply sitting in their squad car.

"We're vulnerable because we are in uniform and in marked cars," Delroy Burton, head of the D.C. Fraternal Order of Police, told The Washington Post. "There is no way to defend against someone who wants to do us harm. There is no way to see it coming."

D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier added to the media outlet that the shootings from Saturday are "a tragic reminder that police officers are vulnerable at all times, simply because of the uniform we wear."

On Saturday, a suspect named Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, allegedly shot two New York City police officers while they were patrolling in their squad car in Brooklyn. Brinsley had left a string of social media messages that suggested he killed the officers to avenge the deaths of unarmed black men Michael Brown and Eric Gardner, recent deaths that have sparked protests in cities across the nation, especially New York and St. Louis, Missouri.

"There's blood on many hands tonight," NYC Patrolmen's Benevolent Association president Pat Lynch said during a speech Saturday night, adding that he blames the officers' deaths on those who "incited violence on the street under the guise of protest."

"That blood on the hands starts on the steps of City Hall, in the office of the mayor," Lynch added.