A police officer was killed in New Jersey this morning while responding to the report of a robbery at a local Walgreens, officials say.
Officer Melvin Santiago and his partner were investigating the call around 4 a.m. in Jersey City, N.J. this morning when the suspect came out of the store shooting, sending bullets through the windshield of the police cruiser.
Other officers responding to the situation shot the suspect several times before placing handcuffs on him. Santiago was pronounced dead at the hospital, while the shooter was taken away in a coroner's van.
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said that a security guard at the store told police that the suspect took his weapon after attacking him.
Santiago, who graduated from the police academy in December, was the city's first officer killed in the line of duty since 2009. "Melvin was an officer who represented everything one would want to see in a police officer," Fulop said in a statement. "I know the entire city's thoughts and prayers are with the Santiago family during this difficult time and we mourn together."
UPDATE: The Associated Press says that the killer, 27-year-old Lawrence Campbell, never attempted to rob the store. Instead, he simply waited for police to arrive, then opened fire. A witness told the Associated Press that Campbell said to watch the news, because he was "going to be famous."
[via Gawker and Associated Press]
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