NYC mayor meets with families of slain police officers

New York (CNN) -- Amid criticism that he's fanned tensions
between the public and police, New York's mayor met with
the families of two slain officers on Monday.
"They are in tremendous pain," Mayor Bill de Blasio told
reporters, "and they are worried deeply."
The mayor said speaking with Officer Rafael Ramos' two
teenage sons made him think of his own children.
"You have two teenage, good young men, who no longer
have a father because of an assassin," de Blasio said.
"I told them that I lost my own dad when I was 18, and that
as painful and difficult as it is, families come together.
People find a way forward," he said. "I also told them that
we would be there for them. That the NYPD family would be
there for them and the people of New York City and the
family of New York would be there for them, and we will be."

New York Police Officer Wenjian Liu

Officer Wenjian Liu's family also is devastated, de Blasio said. His parents are mourning the
loss of their only child, and his wife of just two months is facing the heartbreaking reality of losing her husband in an instant.

New York Police Officer Rafael Ramos

This is the picture of the second officer that died above....
De Blasio repeated his calls to put aside debates and protests and focus on the officers' grieving families.
"It was an attack on every single New Yorker and we have to see it as such," he said. The slain officers are "now our family and we will stand by them," de Blasio said. "Our first obligation is to respect these
families in mourning." He also pushed back against his critics , calling remarks from the head of the city's police union "wrong and mistaken," and accusing the media of contributing to the atmosphere of tension
between police and protesters. Police investigators told reporters they're trying to piece together where the gunman who ambushed and killed the two officers Saturday was in the hours before the shooting. Officials told reporters Monday there's a roughly two- hour gap in the timeline they've assembled leading up to the shooting, and they asked for the public's help to pinpoint where shooter
Ismaaiyl Brinsley was before the incident. Police Commissioner William Bratton told
reporters that investigators believe the gunman
acted alone. So why is it so important to piece together his every move leading up to the shooting?
"We owe it to the families to find out what
happened," Bratton said. "That's why we're
seeking to build this case up, so we know going
forward exactly who talked to this man."