WILMINGTON, DELAWARE– After a gunman shot a Delaware state trooper inside a DMV office near Wilmington on Tuesday, the wounded trooper pushed a nearby employee to safety before the gunman shot him again, killing him, authorities said. A police officer then confronted the gunman, shooting him and killing him.
The trooper, whose name has not yet been released, was working overtime at the front desk when the 44-year-old gunman entered, approached him and opened fire, state police said in a news conference Tuesday evening.
The gunman and the state policeman were taken to the hospital, where they died.
“We have lost a brother, a son, a best friend, a coach, a husband and a father,” Colonel William D. Crotty of the State Police said at the news conference. “His last actions were those of a hero, a hero who saved lives today while sacrificing his own.”
The threat ended before 3 p.m., according to state police. A woman and another government policeman sustained minor, non-gunshot wounds.
“What happened today was an act of pure evil, and had it not been for the heroism of so many other soldiers and officers, the consequences could have been much worse,” Delaware Governor Matt Meyer said at the press conference.
The state DMV said it has closed its offices statewide.