A Pennsylvania state trooper was shot and killed during a traffic stop near Honey Brook, Chester County, on Sunday night, authorities said.
Corporal Timothy O’Connor responded to a report of an erratic driver at 8:16 p.m., and stopped the car eight minutes later near Route 10 and Michael Road. That’s when the driver opened fire from inside his vehicle, fatally striking O’Connor, Lt. Col George Bivens said during a press conference just after midnight Monday.
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“He made a radio transmission indicating that he was stopping the vehicle, and that is the last we heard from Corporal O’Connor,” Bivens said.
After shooting O’Connor, the driver exited his car, took a few steps and fatally shot himself with a semiautomatic pistol, Bivens said. The driver’s name has not been released, but police said he is a 32-year-old man from Chester County.
Additional officers responded to the scene after O’Connor didn’t reply to radio calls, Bivens said.
Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe said the shooting is being investigated as a murder-suicide, and that investigators will be looking into the shooter’s background in the coming days.
“Unfortunately we just don’t have a lot of answers as to why this happened right now,” de Barrena-Sarobe said.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was present during the press conference and said flags will be flown at half-staff to honor O’Connor. He also encouraged the community to support local law enforcement officials.