Authorities said two police officers were killed in a shootout Sunday night as they investigated a stolen car in an upstate New York town near Syracuse.
Two officers were investigating a vehicle parked in Salina, N.Y., when a suspect shot at them, Syracuse Police Chief Joseph L. Cecile told reporters early Monday morning. He gave no indication of a possible motive.
Several people were shot in the ensuing shootout, police said, including a Syracuse Police Department officer, an Onondaga County sheriff’s deputy and a male suspect. Those three people were later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Police said earlier in the evening, around 7 p.m., two Syracuse officers attempted to stop what they identified as a suspicious vehicle, but the driver drove away.
Police then traced the license plate to a residence in Liverpool, a village in Salina, Onondaga County Sheriff Tobias Shelley told reporters Sunday night.
Chief Cecile said that after receiving information that the driver may have been armed, Syracuse police requested assistance from the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office.
Police Chief Shelley said police are investigating the shooting and there is no danger to the community.
“It’s a dark day for Syracuse,” Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said during a news conference Monday. “This is our worst nightmare come true.”
