EUCLID, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio police officer was shot and killed after being “ambushed” while answering a disturbance call over the weekend, and a suspect was being sought, authorities said Sunday.
Police in the Cleveland suburb of Euclid said officers were dispatched just before 10 p.m. Saturday to a home after a reported disturbance.
“While police were investigating, a gunman ambushed an officer, striking him with gunfire,” police said. The officer was taken to a hospital but succumbed to his injuries, police said. Multiple law enforcement agencies were involved in a search for the person responsible, authorities said. WKYC-TV reported that residents who live on the street reported hearing about a dozen gunshots.
Ohio’s attorney general, Dave Yost, identified the slain officer as Jacob Derbin and said he was in his first year with the department.
Yost vowed that the person responsible “will be found and will receive the full measure of justice.” Yost’s office posted photos online of the 24-year-old suspect and the vehicle being sought.
“It is a cruel irony that a mother lost her son on Mother’s Day, and that this murder happened just as we prepare to solemnize our fallen during Police Memorial Week,” Yost said in a statement. “My heart burns with anger at this injustice, for the family of this young officer and the Euclid Police Department.”
Euclid police asked in a statement early Sunday that people “keep the fallen officer, his family, loved ones, and our agency in your thoughts and prayers.”
“He was an amazing human being. Just a great heart. Had an incredible smile. The world’s a better place with him in it,” said Euclid Police Chief Scott Meyer, WJW-TV reported.
Mayor Kirsten Holzheimer Gail said in a statement Sunday that “we find ourselves grappling with a profound sense of sorrow and disbelief.” The mayor called on the community “to come together in solidarity and support, not only to honor a hero who selflessly served and protected us but also to offer strength to one another in this time of grief.”
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