LIVERPOOL, NY – 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 authorities in an exchange of gunfire, authorities said Monday.
The shooting occurred shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday in a residential neighborhood of Liverpool, about 6 miles north of Syracuse, claiming the lives of Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Michael Hoosock and Syracuse Police Officer Michael Jensen .
The slain Syracuse police officer had previously tried to stop a car believed to have been driven by Christopher Murphy, 33. But the driver refused to stop and evaded police, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick told the Associated Press on Monday.
Officers were able to identify the number plate and trace it to an address near Liverpool. They requested assistance from the sheriff’s office.
Officers were inspecting the vehicle and circling the house, heard what sounded like “a gun being handled,” so they took cover, Syracuse Police Chief Joseph Cecile said during a news conference Monday afternoon.
Inside the home, Murphy told a friend that the police were not going to arrest him and that the friend needed to leave. The friend fled the home and was detained, authorities said.
Hoosock, a 17-year veteran of the force with a wife and three young children, was seeking shelter behind a maple tree in an adjacent yard when he was ambushed. The suspect fired from a rear deck, Sheriff Toby Shelley said at Monday’s briefing.
“We believe the first officer shot was a sheriff’s deputy in the back of the house. And I don’t believe he knew what was coming,” Fitzpatrick said.
Jensen, on the force less than three years, was shot after the suspect went to the front of the house and shot at Syracuse police officers with an AR-15-style rifle. Jensen was among the officers who returned fire, police said.
Fitzpatrick said the officer was struck near the armpit, in an area not protected by his vest.
The Syracuse officer, sheriff’s deputy and suspect were taken to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse. All three were pronounced dead at the hospital, Cecile said.
“We lost two heroes last night,” Cecile said.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she was “horrified by the senseless murder” of the two police officers.
“My prayers are with your families, loved ones and colleagues,” the governor posted on X. “New York will never forget your heroism and service.”
The officers were the first officers to be killed in the line of duty in Onondaga County since Officer Wallie Howard Jr. was shot to death during an undercover drug operation in October 1990, authorities said.
Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said, “This is a dark day for Syracuse. This is our worst nightmare come true.”
Murphy had no criminal history other than being charged with drunk driving a decade ago, Fitzpatrick said.
The investigation continued.
“There’s nothing routine about law enforcement these days,” Cecile said.
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An earlier version of this report misspelled the last name of Onondaga County Sheriff Toby Shelley.
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