Two Connecticut officers were lured to their deaths while a third was injured by a fake domestic violence call, according to state police.
Dustin DeMonte, 35, and Alex Hamzy, 34, were both shot dead by the Nicholas Brutcher, 35, after responding to a 911 call at around 10.30pm Wednesday on Redstone Hill Road in Bristol.
According to police, Brutcher opened fire on the officers with AR-15 once they arrived at the home.
They now say the preceding 911 was ‘a deliberate act to lure law enforcement to the scene.’
A third officer, Alec Iurato, 26, was rushed to Saint Francis Hospital and underwent surgery for serious gunshot wounds, where he is currently recovering.
Connecticut State Police Sgt. Christine Jeltema confirmed that the suspect opened fire, with one officer being pronounced dead at the scene.
Brutcher was shot dead at the scene while 32-year-old brother Nathan was wounded.
One witness, Danny Rodriguez, said he heard three sets of gunshots and 30 shots in total. He says he heard another woman yelling out during the shooting: ‘you killed them!’
‘I heard a whole war going on behind me,’ Rodriguez said, according to KOCO.
Jeltema said state troopers and detectives are still gathering evidence and the ‘very complex’ investigation is ongoing.
She added that it was an ‘isolated incident’ with ‘no threat to the community’ during a press conference.
Bristol Police Chief Brian Gould added that the deaths were as a result of ‘senseless violence’ which has brought the force ‘sadness and grief.’
‘They answered a call to duty, and they responded without hesitation, and that’s what they did every night before that,’ Gould said. ‘And that’s what all our officers do and will continue to do day after day.’
Witnesses described hearing two sets of 12 gunshots before sirens and a helicopter descended on the area.
The suspect who opened fire was fatally shot and pronounced dead at the scene while his brother was also shot and taken to a hospital. His condition is unknown.
Sergeant Demonte was hired in 2012 and worked as a school resource officers, and is survived by his pregnant wife Laura and two young children Phoebe and Porter.
Officer Hamzy joined in 2014, working the patrol division and is survived by his wife Katie, parents and two sisters.
Bristol Police Chief Brian Gould added that the deaths were as a result of ‘senseless violence’ which has brought the force ‘sadness and grief.’
‘They answered a call to duty, and they responded without hesitation, and that’s what they did every night before that,’ Gould said. ‘And that’s what all our officers do and will continue to do day after day.’
Witnesses described hearing two sets of 12 gunshots before sirens and a helicopter descended on the area.
The suspect who opened fire was fatally shot and pronounced dead at the scene while his brother was also shot and taken to a hospital. His condition is unknown.
Sergeant Demonte was hired in 2012 and worked as a school resource officers, and is survived by his pregnant wife Laura and two young children Phoebe and Porter.
Officer Hamzy joined in 2014, working the patrol division and is survived by his wife Katie, parents and two sisters.
‘It was horrible. I heard three rounds of nine or 10 gunshots each,’ she said. ‘It was scary as hell — and the sirens were crazy. It was like a war zone.’
The officers were shot during an especially violent week for police in the United States.
On Tuesday night in Mississippi, Greenville Police Department Detective Myiesha Stewart was killed and several other people were injured by gunfire as she and other officers responded to a call, authorities said.
Early Wednesday, three Philadelphia police officers were shot and wounded at a home and a suspect was killed when a SWAT team tried to arrest a man wanted on a homicide charge, police said.
And in Decatur, Illinois, two police officers conducting a traffic stop in a central Illinois city were shot and wounded early Wednesday by a motorist who died after officers returned fire, police said.
That is sad. those children will grow up with no father figure.