Two Connecticut police officers were shot and killed and another injured in a reported ambush while responding to a hoax domestic dispute between two brothers.
State police say the hoax was designed to lure in officers for a shootout Wednesday night just after 10 p.m. ET.
Bristol Police Sgt. Dustin Demonte, 35, and Officer Alex Hamzy, 34, were shot and killed, while Officer Alec Iurato, 26, has survived after going in for surgery at St. Francis Hospital, WSFB-3 reported.
One suspect was killed, Nicholas Brutcher, 35, while Nathan Brutcher, 32, was sent to the same hospital with wounds, according to state troopers.
Police accounts of the ambush say a fake domestic dispute between brothers was called in from Redstone Hill Road in Bristol. Nicholas Brutcher reportedly waited outside for the officers, shooting Hamzy and Demonte. Hamzy died at the scene while Demonte died at the hospital. Iurato was released Thursday morning to a rousing ovation from onlookers outside the hospital, according to the report.
The shootout took place about a half mile from ESPN's broadcast headquarters.
"I probably heard 12 to 15 bangs, looked around about a minute later, [then heard] another rapid fire and then one single shot," Ken Przygocki told WFSB.
Ted Krawiec was also nearby, according to the report.
"We just, like, hearing the gunshots like 'pop pop pop pop pop pop' up and stop, and then stop for maybe 30 seconds and then another round 'pop pop pop pop pop' and then it just stopped," he told the TV station.
"And then [we] started hearing sirens and everything else."
Bristol Police Chief Brian Gould denounced the "senseless violence" of the ambush, mourning the loss of "two exceptional police officers," the New York Post reported.
"Words cannot express the sadness and grief that brings me before you this morning," Gould told reporters.
Demonte was a 2019 co-recipient for Officer of the Year, leaving behind a pregnant wife and two children. Hamzy is survived by his wife, parents, and two sisters.
"[Bristol PD] is privileged and honored to serve on the front lines protecting the community. That's what these heroes did last night. We need your support, we need your thoughts, we need your prayers."
Bristol Mayor Jeff Caggiano added the city's hearts "are broken" for the "hero officers" and their families.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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