Report: Man says NYC blue-on-blue shooting stemmed from prank

Associated Press

NEW YORK — A man charged in the blue-on-blue shooting death of a New York City police officer says the shooting stemmed from a "prank gone horribly wrong."

Christopher Ransom told the New York Daily News in an interview published Friday that he only meant to carry out a phony holdup of a T-Mobile store in Queens.

He said he carried a fake gun and that a friend videotaped the stunt.

Ransom said he returned the workers' money but police were already responding and opened fire. The shooting claimed the life of Det. Brian Simonsen and wounded Sgt. Matthew Gorman.

He told the newspaper that he was not a "monster" and that he didn't anticipate what happened.

Ransom faces murder and other charges in Simonsen's death.