County police release body camera footage of gunfire exchange with murder-suicide suspect
By: New Castle County police have released body camera footage from the night a man shot his girlfriend and another man, then killed himself, though not before exchanging gunfire with police.
The 40-second clip, published Friday afternoon, depicts the moment the 34-year-old suspect − who has not yet been publicly identified − shot through a basement window at police. An officer fired back and hit the man in the arm, the department said.
While the investigation into the incident remains ongoing, county police said the video is intended to provide residents "with a better understanding of what occurred." In recent years, the agency has released body camera footage from at least one other police shooting to give the public a glimpse of what happens in those tense moments.
Friday's intent was the same, the department said.
What happened?
New Castle County police were called to the home in the first block of Leader Drive in the Ogletown development of Newark Oaks about 12:40 a.m. on Sept. 21 after another 34-year-old man dialed 911 to say he and his girlfriend had been shot.
According to police, the suspect arrived home and confronted the woman and the other man. The caller told dispatchers that he was upstairs in the home and his girlfriend was downstairs.
When police arrived, they surrounded the house and tried to contact the victim. While outside, a one-year veteran of the department looked through a first-story window and "observed the suspect armed with a firearm," the department said.
"The suspect then fired a shot through the window towards the officers," the agency said.
In the video, the officer can be heard saying "Turn that off, I'm gonna approach," referring to the light on another officer's gun. The officer agrees, and the man gets closer to the window.
About 24 seconds into the clip, a small pop can be heard and the officer, who is now next to the window with a ballistic shield, can be seen recoiling backward. About a second-and-a-half later, he begins firing, shooting at least five times as he backs away.
Once away from the window, the officer tells another officer next to him that the suspect "just shot through this front door," meaning the front window.
"I was shot at," he says again before adding, "I'm good."
A SWAT team later entered the home and found the 31-year-old woman dead. The suspect, police said, had turned the gun on himself.
The boyfriend was taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries. He is recovering.