Four police officers executed

Published on Monday 30 November 2009 00:47

A GUNMAN burst into a coffee house and opened fire on four police officers, killing the three men and one woman on the west coast of America yesterday morning.

The officers were sitting in the coffee shop working on their laptops before the start of their shifts at 8am local time, when the shooting, described as a targeted ambush, occurred in Parkland, about 40 miles south of Seattle, in the state of Washington.

Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said officers were looking for a male suspect who fled on foot, but had not ruled out an accomplice.

The suspect has been described as an African-American male wearing a black coat and blue jeans.

All of the officers were in uniform, wearing protective vests and had marked patrol cars parked outside, according to Mr Troyer.

Families of the officers have been notified and a $10,000 reward offered for information leading to an arrest.

Mr Troyer said it was not clear whether the officers had time to draw their weapons to return fire. He said the officers were catching up on paperwork at the beginning of their shifts when they were attacked.

Mr Troyer said the attack was clearly targeted at the officers. "This was more of an execution, a walk-in with the specific mindset to shoot police officers," Mr Troyer said

Two employees and a few other customers were in the shop during the shooting. All eye-witnesses are being interviewed by the Pierce County Sheriff's investigators.

"Some are in shock. They are very upset," Mr Troyer said. "They are the ones who are going to put together for us how this happened."

The Forza Coffee Shop, part of a popular local chain, is on a side street near McChord Air Force Base. The shop is in a small retail centre alongside two restaurants, a cigar store and a nail salon.

Brad Carpenter, founder and owner of Forza Coffee, said his staff were being interviewed by police, and that his main concern was with the families of the police officers. "I'm a retired police officer, so this really hits close to home for me," he said.

Mr Troyer said: "We are looking at some people. We are looking at some cars. We are looking at some residences."

Washington Governor Chris Gregoire said she was "shocked and horrified" by the killings.

"Our police put their lives on the line every day, and tragedies like this remind us of the risks they continually take to keep our communities safe," she said in a written statement.

"My heart goes out to the family, friends and co-workers of these officers, as well as the entire law-enforcement community."

In April this year, three police officers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, were shot dead by a man wearing a bulletproof vest and armed with an AK-47, a long rifle and a pistol, who fired about 100 rounds.