Two suspects wanted for fatally shooting a Michigan State Trooper during a traffic stop were arrested after another shootout with police officials at a nearby gas station, according to NY Daily News.
The two suspects, who were not identified, opened fire on police after they tracked the pair down to the Manistee County gas station about two hours after Trooper Paul Butterfield was found shot in the head around 6:20 in the evening, cops said. The officers returned fire and shot the man, who was taken to a hospital and expected to survive. The woman was cuffed at the scene.
Cops believe one of the suspects fired the round that killed Butterfield, a 14-year vet who was shot after he stopped the car that the couple was driving. A passing motorist spotted Butterfield lying on the side of the road in Sherman Township and dialed 911, police said.
Butterfield, 43, a U.S. Army veteran, was rushed to Munson Medical Center, but died during emergency surgery. "A tragic event like this shakes us all, but it also bolsters our resolve to make our streets and our neighborhoods safer," Gov. Rick Snyder said in a statement on Tuesday.
"This senseless incident is a grim reminder that our brave public safety officers put their lives on the line every day when they go to work protecting Michiganders. They are heroes." Investigators located the wanted couple by using a description of the vehicle that Butterfield radioed in just three minutes before he was found bleeding on the ground, police said.
"Tonight we lost a hero," state police director Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue said in a statement. "The entire MSP family, as well as our greater law enforcement family, mourns alongside the Butterfields. Trooper Butterfield's sacrifice will never be forgotten. May he rest in peace."
