NYPD officers targeted in 'assassination' attempts. AOC blames NRA, McConnell, lack of gun control

Two New York Police Department officers were shot over the weekend in what New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio characterized as "an attempt to assassinate police officers." In response, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) lashed out at Republicans and the National Rifle Association.

According to the New York Times, the perpetrator shot two NYPD officers sitting in a van after asking them for directions. Then he opened fire inside an NYPD precinct in the Bronx. Fortunately, no officers were killed.

"Thank God our officers are alive," de Blasio said Sunday. "This was an attempt to assassinate police officers, we need to use the word. It was a premeditated effort to kill."

When asked to respond to the incident, Ocasio-Cortez did not condemn the shooter — but instead recited Democratic talking points.

"This is not my district, but our thoughts are with all officers & people impacted by this shooting & the epidemic of gun violence in this country," Ocasio-Cortez said. "Perhaps you would get less mixed up if [Mitch] McConnell stood up to the NRA & passed common-sense gun safety measures to reduce shootings."

However, Ocasio-Cortez's suggestion that gun control would have prevented the attacks is untrue.

New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said at a news conference Sunday that the perpetrator has a "lengthy violent criminal history," including serving more than a decade in prison for attempted murder before being paroled in 2017, the Washington Post reported.

This means that the perpetrator is a felon and already barred from owning or possessing firearms.