Pennsylvania state police trooper shot and killed in a traffic stop, authorities say
PAOLI, Pa. — A Pennsylvania State Police trooper was shot and killed by a suspect whom he had pulled over in a traffic stop Sunday night, authorities said.
Cpl. Tim O’Connor was killed as he approached the car when the driver fired from inside the vehicle, the state's acting police commissioner, Lt. Col. George Bivens, told a late Sunday night news conference at Paoli Hospital in Chester County.
The shooter then got out of the car, walked a short distance away and shot and killed himself with a pistol, Bivens said. He did not publicly identify the man.
O'Connor was a 15-year-veteran of the state police who was married and had a young daughter, authorities said.
“Anybody you talk to tells you what a great guy he was,” Bivens said.
Gov. Josh Shapiro told the news conference that he told O'Connor's wife and parents that there were many questions about the shooting, “but the one thing that we absolutely know for certain is that their son, their husband, was a hero and he died protecting others.”
“That is a noble calling and that is something we are profoundly grateful for,” Shapiro said.
O'Connor had been on patrol when a call came in for an erratic driver. O'Connor was dispatched and reported shortly afterward that he had pulled over the car at an intersection in West Caln Township, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of Philadelphia.
“That is the last we heard from Corporal O’Connor,” Bivens said.
He didn't respond to radio calls to check on him and troopers dispatched to the scene to check on him “found a very bad situation,” Bivens said.
Police and Chester County authorities were investigating, Bivens said. Chester County's district attorney, Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe, said the shooter was a 32-year-old Chester County resident and that investigators know his identity.
Investigators will look into his background and motives, de Barrena-Sarobe said.
Shapiro ordered U.S. and state flags to fly at half-staff to honor O’Connor Jr.
