Cop killed in Fargo, North Dakota, mass shooting

One officer was killed while two others were seriously wounded as paramedics rushed to the scene where a man opened fire on a busy street in Fargo, North Dakota, police reported on Friday afternoon.

The police confirmed that the suspect was killed as a result of returning fire from the officers during the shooting, which occurred before 3pm. 

The police released a statement late-night, stating that a civilian had also been severely injured, but no information was provided about a potential motive.

While an investigation is underway, the Fargo Police Department withheld the names of the wounded officers and the suspect pending notification of their families.

North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley said the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation was working with federal, state, and local law enforcement in response to a “shooting incident,” but provided no details.

Further information is expected to be released by Fargo police at a press conference set for Saturday at 3:30pm at Fargo City Hall, according to Gregg Schildberger, the city's chief communications officer.

“We sincerely are asking for your patience and our community’s patience and understanding as the Fargo Police Department works through this incident,” Schildberger said Friday evening.

“This is very difficult on all of us,” Schildberger said. “We appreciate all the messages from the community that have been given to us in support of our officers.”

In an email, Paul Heinert, a spokesman at Sanford Medical Centre Fargo, stated that the Fargo police would provide updates on the conditions of the injured patients that the hospital received following the shooting.

According to numerous witnesses, a man started shooting at the policemen before being shot by other officers.

A short while later, police converged on a neighbourhood about 2 miles (3.2 km) away, evacuated the occupants, and began gathering what they claimed to be evidence related to the shooting.

According to Valley News Live, witnesses shared that the shooting occurred after a traffic collision on 25th Street South near 9th Avenue South, and they heard more than 40 shots, likely from an automatic weapon.

Shannon Nichole told KFGO Radio that she was driving at the time.

“I saw the traffic stop and as soon as I drove, shots were fired and I saw the cops go down,” Nichole said. “My airbag went off and the bullet went through my driver’s door.”

A man grabbed her and said they needed to get out of the area, Nichole said.

Chenoa Peterson, who was present at the scene, said that she was driving with her 22-year-old daughter when a man pulled out a gun and began firing at police: “He proceeds to aim it and you just hear the bullets go off, and I’m like, ‘Oh, my God! He’s shooting!’”

Peterson’s first instinct was to pull over and try to help, but having her daughter there convinced her to leave. “It’s weird knowing that if you were 10 seconds earlier, you could have been in that,” she said.

Surveillance video provided by Fargo resident Allison Carlson captured the rapid sounds of gunfire.

Police and other agencies across the region posted sympathies for Fargo police on Facebook.

“Thinking of our brothers and sisters in Fargo,” a post from the South Dakota Fraternal Order of Police said.

Meanwhile, the Glenwood Fire Department in Minnesota posted, “Please keep the blue lights shining to show our support of not only our local law enforcement, but also those affected by today's events!”

Hours before the shooting spree, another mass shooting in Maryland injured five people on a roadway, of whom three were in critical condition