Officials have identified Christopher R. Murphy as the man who shot and killed a Syracuse police officer and a sheriff's deputy over the weekend before dying of injuries sustained during the shootout. The Onondaga County District Attorney confirmed Murphy, a 33-year-old resident of Salina, as the suspect in the deadly incident on Sunday, Syracuse.com reported.
Meanwhile, numerous law enforcement officers from various parts of Central New York assembled outside Upstate University Hospital, where the injured officers were transported. The police force is mourning the tragic deaths of the officers. The shooting occurred at a home in the Oot Meadows area near Syracuse, as police were investigating a reported stolen vehicle.
Killed Before Getting Killed
All parties involved, including both officers and Murphy, sustained injuries during the shootout. Murphy succumbed to his injuries and died at the hospital. Murphy engaged in a shootout with a Syracuse Police Department officer and an Onondaga County Sheriff's Office deputy outside a home in Salina, a suburb of Syracuse, shortly before 9 p.m.
Earlier, around 7 p.m., the officers had trailed him to the home after he failed to stop during a traffic stop in the city's Tipp Hill neighborhood.
Images captured at the scene show a large police presence on the street following the incident. Dispatch records from the Onondaga County 911 Center indicate that an officer down call was issued just before 9 p.m. on Sunday.
Subsequently, reports surfaced of a vehicle rushing people to Upstate University Hospital.
Local media outlets indicated that a command center was set up as police conducted a thorough search of the area, with a helicopter deployed for help.
Couldn't Escape Police Fire
Witness Brian Fagan recounted hearing a car speeding through the streets, followed by five deputy police cruisers. The vehicles screeched to a halt near his home, followed by the sound of four or five gunshots.
He said: "I'm looking out my window now and there's probably 30 to 40 state troopers and sheriff's up my street."
Fagan also told the outlet that the county's 911 system instructed him to shelter in place after the incident.
Meanwhile, a large number of police officers from various parts of Central New York congregated outside Upstate University Hospital, where the injured officers were transported.
