A Brooklyn elementary school has been given a new name in honor of a NYPD detective who was killed in the line of duty. This change comes ten years after his tragic death.
Key points:
- P.S. 331 has been renamed as the Detective Wenjian Liu School of Civics and Entrepreneurship.
- The school, with a large Asian American student body, is the first in Brooklyn named after an Asian American.
- Detective Wenjian Liu’s widow and daughter attended the emotional renaming ceremony on May 2.
Catch up:
- On Dec. 20, 2014, Detective Liu and his partner, Detective Rafael Ramos, were shot and killed in a senseless attack while on patrol in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
Today 20K331 was officially named The Detective Wenjian Liu School of Civics and Entrepreneurship @pretto_david @NYPDnews @NYCSchools @DOEChancellor @NYCMayor @NYPDPC @NYPD1stDep @ruxdanika @Russ_Lieberman @susanzhuangnyc pic.twitter.com/sfqnf5ggbA
— Community School District 20 (@20_doe) May 3, 2024
The details:
- Liu’s widow, Sanny Liu, sees the renaming as a way to ensure their daughter, Angelina, knows her father’s heroism. Angelina, born through IVF two years after her father’s death, will start attending the Det. Wenjian Liu School next year.
- “I would tell her, her father was a real American hero, he sacrificed his life for protecting his community,” Liu told ABC7.
- The school is situated in Dyker Heights, a neighborhood with a large Asian American population
- The Detective Wenjian Liu School of Civics and Entrepreneurship emphasizes civic values and community resources, including a free dental clinic for students and families.
- City Councilmember Susan Zhuang, Brooklyn’s first Chinese American representative, emphasized that the renaming will serve as a “reminder that generations to come will be given an education rooted in civic leadership and values that Detective Liu held so close to his heart.”
- Ramos’ widow, Martiza, also attended the ceremony and shared that the passage of time hasn’t diminished her grief.
