Officer, sheriff ’s deputy killed in gunfire exchange

LIVERPOOL, N.Y. — A police officer and a sheriff ’s deputy were shot and killed in an upstate New York suburb by a man who was killed by law enforcement in an exchange of gunfire, authorities said.

The shootings took place shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday in Liverpool, about 6 miles north of Syracuse.

The slain Syracuse police officer had earlier attempted to pull over a car believed to have been driven by Christopher Murphy, 33. But the driver refused to pull over and eluded police, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick told The Associated Press on Monday.

Officers were able to identify the license plate and tracked it to an address in nearby Liverpool.

They requested assistance from the Onondaga County Sheriff ’s Office, Syracuse Police Chief Joseph Cecile said during a news conference.

The officers found the vehicle at the home and saw what appeared to be guns inside the automobile. At some point, they “heard what sounded like someone manipulating a firearm from inside the residence,” Cecile said.

Inside the house, Murphy had told a friend police were not going to arrest him and that the friend needed to leave. The friend ran from the house. Murphy began firing a high-capacity weapon, Fitzpatrick said.

“We believe the first officer shot is a sheriff ’s deputy in the rear of the house. And I don’t believe he knew what was coming,” Fitzpatrick said.

Murphy came out of the house and fired on four Syracuse police officers who were out front, striking one near the armpit in an area not protected by the officer’s vest. Two officers returned fire, including the officer who was shot, the prosecutor said.

The Syracuse officer, sheriff ’s deputy and the suspect were brought to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse. All three were pronounced dead at the hospital, Cecile said. The officers’ names were not immediately released.

“We lost two heroes tonight,” Cecile said.