On Saturday (Dec. 20), Ismaaiyl Brinsley went on a violent killing spree, which included opening fire on his ex-girlfriend Shaneka Thomas in Baltimore, leaving her in critical condition. He later traveled to Brooklyn where he murdered two New York Police Department officers, Officer Liu and Officer Ramos. Brinsley then committed suicide by turning the gun on himself. To make matters worse, it was revealed the 28-year-old gunman posted threats toward the police department on Instagram before the shootings took place.

Today, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons wrote about the horrific incident to Huffington Post, specifically pointing out the negative comments made by president of the police union Pat Lynch to Mayor de Blasio. Through out the entire letter, Simmons' emotions range from anger to extreme compassion as he balances his intentions of provoking a positive change in the community with sharing his disgust of the recent events linked to these tragic deaths. Here's an excerpt from the letter:

"Sadly, it has become apparent that there are some so-called leaders who are abusing this moment to further grab power within their base. Clearly, one of them is the president of the police union, Pat Lynch. As I have listened to the rhetoric and vicious divisive comments made by this man over the past few weeks, I have done everything to hold back. But, after this weekend, I have no choice to address him directly. Pat, there is no "war" that will be waged upon our communities by your, I mean OUR officers, there is no blood on anyone's hands except those of the killer, and there is no demonizing hundreds of thousands of people who have peacefully exercised their first amendment right marching in the streets for an end to violence. It is disappointing to witness how disrespectful Pat Lynch has been to Mayor de Blasio for trying to reform a department in much need of transformation, yet he was SILENT when the leader of his police department was far more direct in his criticism."

You can read Russell Simmons' full commentary here.

[Huffington Post]

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