Five other officers wounded, two in critical condition
PARIS, Prov. of Grass. - A nine-year-old girl and a police officer are dead after a shootout in southern POG.
The Dunnigan County Sheriff's Office confirmed its SWAT team had responded to hostage situation involving a young girl and a middle-aged male in a rural area outside of the town of Paris, about 40 miles west of Lansdale.
Officers responded at 5:32 pm eastern time.
Police say they brought in a negotiator to secure the young girl's release, but the suspect refused to release her.
After two hours, officers attempted to storm the residence, where the gunman was holed up with the child.
"We sent in two teams of SWAT officers. One to rescue the child, who was in a different room, and the other to subdue the suspect. Somewhere in that ensuing action, the child was fatally struck by gunfire," said Dunnigan County Sheriff Rick Gaylord.
Officer Chris Williams, age 37, was also killed by gunfire.
Williams had been with the Dunnigan County Sheriff's Office for nine years.
Five other officers were also shot. Two of them are in critical condition at a Lansdale-area hospital.
Upon entering the home, officers fired on the suspect, but not in the direction of the child, who was several feet away from the gunman and in an adjacent room when police entered the residence, Gaylord said.
The gunman then opened fire on police, shooting in the direction of the child and a group of officers.
An investigation by a separate law enforcement agency and the medical examiner's office will determine if the girl and the officers were, in fact, killed by the gunman or accidentally by fellow police.
The young girl is believed to be the gunman's daughter or step-daughter, police said.
"We are still working on confirming the details, there is a lot of information we don't know yet for sure, so we are still trying to figure things out," said Gaylord.
"It's always a very sad situation when an innocent victim is killed, especially a young child. And then to lose a fellow officer, a friend, a colleague. That really wears on the minds and hearts of our officers. Our job is to protect and save, and sometimes we can't save the victim. Sometimes our officers don't come home after their shift," said a visibly emotional Gaylord.
"We try our best and in this case our officers acted very professionally and did everything they could. But sometimes you can't save someone, and sometimes as a police officer, you have to make the ultimate sacrifice. And that weighs on your conscience," Gaylord said.
The suspect was shot multiple times and killed instantly. He has not been identified yet pending notification of next of kin.
Authorities have only confirmed that the deceased suspect was a white male in his 30's or 40's. They say the suspect may have been under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs at the time of the incident.
POG Governor Donna Almone, who was in North Ceona campaigning for her presidential campaign at the time of the tragedy, called Sheriff Gaylord to express her condolences.
"Our hearts are with the law enforcement community tonight in Dunnigan County, and with the family of the little girl who was killed. Such an awful situation, and tonight our hearts go out to this community," she said while speaking in North Gallaghan, North Ceona.
Almone also ordered flags statewide to be flown at half-mast on Monday, in honor of Officer Chris Williams.
PARIS, Prov. of Grass. - A nine-year-old girl and a police officer are dead after a shootout in southern POG.
The Dunnigan County Sheriff's Office confirmed its SWAT team had responded to hostage situation involving a young girl and a middle-aged male in a rural area outside of the town of Paris, about 40 miles west of Lansdale.
Officers responded at 5:32 pm eastern time.
Police say they brought in a negotiator to secure the young girl's release, but the suspect refused to release her.
After two hours, officers attempted to storm the residence, where the gunman was holed up with the child.
"We sent in two teams of SWAT officers. One to rescue the child, who was in a different room, and the other to subdue the suspect. Somewhere in that ensuing action, the child was fatally struck by gunfire," said Dunnigan County Sheriff Rick Gaylord.
Officer Chris Williams, age 37, was also killed by gunfire.
Williams had been with the Dunnigan County Sheriff's Office for nine years.
Five other officers were also shot. Two of them are in critical condition at a Lansdale-area hospital.
Upon entering the home, officers fired on the suspect, but not in the direction of the child, who was several feet away from the gunman and in an adjacent room when police entered the residence, Gaylord said.
The gunman then opened fire on police, shooting in the direction of the child and a group of officers.
An investigation by a separate law enforcement agency and the medical examiner's office will determine if the girl and the officers were, in fact, killed by the gunman or accidentally by fellow police.
The young girl is believed to be the gunman's daughter or step-daughter, police said.
"We are still working on confirming the details, there is a lot of information we don't know yet for sure, so we are still trying to figure things out," said Gaylord.
"It's always a very sad situation when an innocent victim is killed, especially a young child. And then to lose a fellow officer, a friend, a colleague. That really wears on the minds and hearts of our officers. Our job is to protect and save, and sometimes we can't save the victim. Sometimes our officers don't come home after their shift," said a visibly emotional Gaylord.
"We try our best and in this case our officers acted very professionally and did everything they could. But sometimes you can't save someone, and sometimes as a police officer, you have to make the ultimate sacrifice. And that weighs on your conscience," Gaylord said.
The suspect was shot multiple times and killed instantly. He has not been identified yet pending notification of next of kin.
Authorities have only confirmed that the deceased suspect was a white male in his 30's or 40's. They say the suspect may have been under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs at the time of the incident.
POG Governor Donna Almone, who was in North Ceona campaigning for her presidential campaign at the time of the tragedy, called Sheriff Gaylord to express her condolences.
"Our hearts are with the law enforcement community tonight in Dunnigan County, and with the family of the little girl who was killed. Such an awful situation, and tonight our hearts go out to this community," she said while speaking in North Gallaghan, North Ceona.
Almone also ordered flags statewide to be flown at half-mast on Monday, in honor of Officer Chris Williams.
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