State authorities, FBI search for Birmingham cop killer
WPMI-TV
October 24, 2006
A police officer was fatally shot in a Birmingham suburb on Monday and a
backup officer was wounded, sparking a manhunt and prompting school
lockdowns,
authorities said.(FAIRFIELD, Ala.-AP) October 24 --
More than 150 police officers blocked roads in Fairfield and went door to
door with guns drawn searching for two men, authorities said.
"A very cold-blooded murderer, a thug, if you will, is on the streets,"
Fairfield Mayor Michael Johnson told re****ters. He urged the suspects to
turn themselves in.
Officer Mary Smith, 48, was responding to a call about asuspicious vehicle
about 10:15 a.m. when she was shot as she stepped from her patrol car,
authorities said. Officer
Erick Burpo, who arrived on the scene a few seconds later, was shot in the
leg.
Police Chief Pat Mardis told The Birmingham News that Smith was able to
use
her radio to call in part of a license plate number, and that officers
were
searching for a
vehicle described as a beige Ford pickup truck.
Smith was shot in the chest and died at a hospital, Mardis said. Smith had
joined the Fairfield police two months ago after retiring from the police
force in neighboring
Birmingham.
Officials locked down a half-dozen schools in the area during the manhunt.
The shootings were several blocks from Miles College. Ricky Lee, a college
spokesman, said campus police, city officers and state troopers swept
through buildings to
make sure no suspects were on campus.
"We have stopped cl***** for the rest of the day, and the entrance and
exits
to the campus are locked," he said.
Witness - Phone: (205) 786-411
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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