A Delaware state trooper was killed by a 44-year-old gunman at a Division of Motor Vehicles location in Wilmington, according to police.
Delaware State Police responded to the DMV around 2 p.m. Tuesday, after the suspected gunman, who entered as a customer, approached a state trooper sitting at the reception desk and shot him, officials said at a press conference. The trooper was “working an overtime assignment,” according to police.
“After being shot, the trooper pushed the DMV employee out of harm's way, and the suspect shot the trooper again,” Delaware State Police Public Information Officer Cpl. Raushan Rich told reporters.
A New Castle County police officer then confronted the suspect and shot him, according to police. The suspect was taken to a local hospital, where he died. The trooper also died at a local hospital.
Others were treated for minor injuries after the shooting.
A 40-year-old woman was transported to a local hospital with “minor, non-gunshot-related injuries,” while a second state trooper was evaluated for a “minor, non-gunshot-related injury,” according to state police. A 35-year-old woman who refused transport to a nearby hospital was also evaluated for shortness of breath.
Delaware Governor Matt Meyer said the fallen trooper was a “hero who gave his life in the line of duty,” and called the shooting an “act of pure evil.” The names of the trooper and the suspect involved in the shooting have not been released.
Colonel William D. Crotty told reporters that the Delaware State Police “suffered a devastating loss.”
“We lost a brother, a son, a best friend, a coach, a husband and a father,” he said.
Earlier Tuesday, Meyer confirmed that there was “no active threat to the public” after officers responded to the scene.
There were major delays on Route 13, near the DMV office, in the wake of the shooting, according to the Delaware News Journal. FBI agents were at the scene, along with state police and prosecutors from the Delaware Department of Justice, the outlet reports.
Surveillance footage from inside the DMV obtained by NBC 10 shows a bullet hole in a window behind the waiting area. The footage also shows a group of officers moving through the office.
All Delaware DMV locations closed in the wake of the shooting on Tuesday, the agency said in a statement.
Representative Sarah McBride, who represents the state’s at-large district, said she has been briefed on the incident.
“I am praying for all of those impacted, including our brave law enforcement officers. I continue to be in touch with state officials as we all gain more information,” she wrote on X.
Senator Chris Coons said he was “horrified by the tragic reports of a shooting,” while Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester said she was “appreciative of the courageous effort from law enforcement and praying for those involved.”
