A police officer and sheriff’s lieutenant were killed last week in a shootout following a failed traffic stop in Central New York, the Associated Press reported.
Authorities identified the fallen officers as Syracuse Police Officer Michael Jensen and Onondaga County Sheriff’s Lt. Michael Hoosock. The shooter, identified as 33-year-old Christopher Murphy, was also killed in the shootout.
According to the Syracuse Post-Standard, the incident began at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, April 15, when Officer Jensen attempted to pull over a vehicle in the Tipp Hill neighborhood on the city’s West Side. The driver of the vehicle fled the scene. A check on the vehicle’s license plate showed that it was registered to an address in Liverpool, a suburb just north of the city.
The Syracuse police and county law enforcement found the vehicle parked outside the address with guns in the backseat, Syracuse Police Chief Joe Cecile told reporters last Monday. Gunfire erupted from the house and the officers returned fire. Jensen and Hoosock were killed in the exchange, as was Murphy.
Onondaga County Sheriff Toby Shelly told reporters that Lt. Hoosock, who was a 17-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department, was running for cover behind a tree in the backyard next door when the suspect opened fire from the back deck and shot him. Hoosock left behind a wife and three children.
According to District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, Jensen was then shot after the suspect moved to the front of the house and began firing on officers with a semi-automatic rifle. The officer, who had been with the Syracuse Police for nearly three years, was hit under his arm above his vest.
According to the district attorney, Murphy’s criminal record consisted of only one drunk driving charge from a decade ago.
Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh described the incident as “our worst nightmare come true.” He offered his thoughts to the families of the fallen officers, whom he described as “heroes.”
