WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — 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, shot and killed the gunman.
The trooper, who has not yet been named, was working an overtime assignment at the reception desk when the 44-year-old gunman walked in, approached the trooper and fired, state police said at a news conference Tuesday night.
The gunman and state trooper were transported to a hospital, where they died.
“We lost a brother, a son, a best friend, a coach, a husband and a father,” Col. William D. Crotty of the state police said at the news conference. “His last actions were that of a hero, a hero who saved lives today while sacrificing his own.”
The threat was over before 3 p.m., according to state police. A woman and second state trooper had minor injures not from gunshots.
“What happened today was an act of pure evil, and if not for the heroism of several troopers and other officers, the consequences could have been so much worse,” Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer said at the news conference.
The state DMV said it has closed its offices statewide.
