UPDATE BELOW:
Four police officers in three states were shot in four separate attacks on Sunday. Three officers were wounded and two suspects killed in shootouts in St. Louis and Gladstone, Mo., and Sanibel, Fla. In San Antonio a manhunt was still underway Monday for the unidentified man who fatally shot a San Antonio police officer at a traffic stop in what cops are saying was an ambush.
“I feel we (police) were targeted,” Police Chief William McManus said. “I think the uniform was the target.”
Via Fox News:
An extensive police dragnet had failed Monday to catch the unnamed suspect in the ambush killing of Detective Benjamin Marconi, 50, a 20-year veteran. Marconi was the first of four police officers in three states shot during a seemingly unconnected Sunday spree.
Three of the incidents appeared to be targeted attacks and involved law enforcement officers sitting unsuspectingly in their patrol cars, either waiting in traffic or after pulling vehicles over for traffic stops.
On Monday, San Antonio authorities released video surveillance footage showing an African American man outside police headquarters.
He is seen speaking to a clerk on an intercom before being let in to a vestibule. But the man only stayed a short time before leaving. McManus wouldn’t detail what the suspect said, only that he asked a question.
“I don’t know why he was in headquarters,” McManus said. “We have some ideas why we believe he may have been in headquarters, but we’re not sure.”
Four hours later, the man is suspected of killing Marconi as Marconi sat in his patrol car across from police headquarters writing a traffic ticket at 11:45 a.m. local time.
While Marconi was in the squad car, a vehicle thought to be driven by the suspect pulled up behind him. A man got out and shot Marconi twice in the head. The final shot was fired as the assailant reached inside Marconi’s passenger window to shoot the father of two at close range.
McManus said dashcam footage of the incident existed, but he wouldn’t say what was on the video.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott released the following statement on the murder of Detective Marconi:
Statement on murder of San Antonio Police Officer pic.twitter.com/m1WrgMaFva
— Gov. Greg Abbott (@GovAbbott) November 20, 2016
Two other shootings that occurred Sunday also appear to be ambush-style attacks on law enforcement.
In St. Louis a police sergeant was shot twice in the face at 7:30 p.m. Sunday night and while he is expected to survive, he’s currently hospitalized in critical condition.
The 46-year-old officer, who was not named, is a married father of three and, like Marconi, a 20-year veteran of the force.
“This officer was driving down the road and was ambushed by an individual who pointed a gun at him from inside of his car and shot out the police officer’s window,” Police Chief Sam Dotson said.
The gunman was later killed after he shot at other officers who returned fire. No officers were injured during that encounter.
Police sources identified the man killed in a shootout with police as George Bush III, 19.
In Sanibel, Fla., an officer was shot during a similar incident when a person fired at the officer as he sat in his patrol car after finishing a traffic stop just before 8 p.m. last night. The wounded officer was taken to an area hospital where he was treated and later released.
Early Monday morning, the FDLE arrested 49-year-old Jon Webster Hay, of 1476 Sandcastle, and charged him with attempted homicide. He was being held on no bond at the Lee County jail and was set for first appearance in Lee County court on Tuesday.
Finally, an officer in Gladstone, Mo., was shot in the hand while tussling with a man in his late teens who had fled from a traffic stop.
Kansas City Police said a Gladstone police officer stopped a vehicle on a traffic violation at Vivion and 169 Highway. The passenger in the vehicle ran and Gladstone officers pursued the suspect on foot.
Officers caught up with that suspect and attempted to take him into custody. A struggle ensued. During that fight, the suspect produced a handgun. Shots were fired and that suspect was killed.
The officer involved suffered non-life threatening injuries. Police said he was shot in the hand. He is expected to make a full recovery.
The suspect has been identified only as a white male in his late teens.
The driver of the vehicle involved was taken into custody, but was later released after questioning. He is cooperating with police.
Next page: November has been a bloody month for police officers this year
November has been a particularly bloody month for police officers this year. According to the Officer Down Memorial Page Detective Marconi is the tenth officer to be killed by gunfire so far this month.
On Friday a deputy U.S. marshal was shot and killed in southeastern Georgia while trying to arrest a man with a history of targeting police. Law enforcement shot and killed the suspect.
Deputy Commander Patrick Carothers, 53, was part of a team seeking to arrest Dontrell Montese Carter, who was wanted on charges including attempted murder of police officers and domestic violence stemming from a September incident in South Carolina, the U.S. Marshals Service reported.
And earlier this month two officers in the Des Moines, Iowa, metro area were fatally shot in separate ambush-style attacks while sitting in their patrol cars.
Additionally, Deputy Sheriff Dennis Wallace of the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department in Calif., Officer Scott Leslie Bashioum of the Canonsburg Borough Police Department in Pa., Deputy Sheriff Daryl Smallwood of the Peach County Sheriff’s Office in Ga., Officer Darrin Reed of the Show Low Police Department in Ariz., Sergeant Patrick Sondron of the Peach County Sheriff’s Office in Ga., and Sergeant Paul Tuozzolo of the New York City Police Department have been killed by gunfire so far in November.
FBI Director James Comey told a gathering of police chiefs last month that officers were serving during “a uniquely difficult time in American law enforcement.”
Fifty-eight officers have been killed by gunfire while on duty so far this year, an increase of 71 percent over last year.
Tuesday 3:37 p.m. EST: The suspect in the murder of San Antonio Detective Benjamin Marconi was arrested Monday afternoon. Via Fox News:
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said that 31-year-old Otis Tyrone McKane was taken into custody without incident at around 4:30 p.m. local time. McKane was charged with capital murder.
[…]
While being escorted to jail last night, McKane told reporters that he was angry with the court system for not letting him see his son and he “lashed out at somebody who didn’t deserve it.”
He added, “I’ve been through several custody battles, and I was upset at the situation I was in.” He said that he wished to apologize to the family of the slain officer.
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