Texas police officer shot dead while writing traffic ticket

SAN ANTONIO — A Texas detective was shot and killed while writing a traffic ticket outside of police headquarters late Sunday morning. Later Sunday, two other officers were wounded in incidents in Florida and Missouri.

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus identified the slain officer as 20-year veteran Detective Benjamin Marconi, 50. He said the suspect has not yet been apprehended, and a motive is not known.

McManus said Marconi had pulled over a car for a traffic violation outside Public Safety Headquarters in downtown. While Marconi was inside his squad car writing a ticket, a black vehicle pulled up behind him and the driver got out, walked up to the detective’s window and shot him in the head, McManus said. Then the suspect reached into the window and shot Marconi a second time, he said.

The suspect then got back into his car and drove away in what police described as a black Toyota or Nissan sedan. McManus said in a news conference Sunday afternoon that police do not know if there was a connection between the car Marconi stopped and the shooter.

Police said Marconi was pronounced dead at San Antonio Military Medical Centeraround 12:30 p.m. CT Sunday.

Later Sunday, a Sanibel Police Department officer was shot during a traffic stop. The officer's shooting was a first for the island police department, according to police officials.

He was taken to Lee Memorial Hospital and his condition was not known.

The city website reported that shots had been exchanged with the suspect and it had sent a reverse 911 call to Sanibel residents in the Dunes neighborhoods advising them to let lock all doors and stay away from windows.

And in Missouri, KSDK-TV reported a police sergeant was in critical but stable condition after being shot in south St. Louis Sunday night.

St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief Sam Dotson said a suspect pulled alongside the officer's marked car and fired, hitting him twice in his face. The suspect was at large.

The injured sergeant, 46, has 20 years of service, police said.

Dotson said St. Louis city officers will have two officers per squad car for the time being.

San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor released a statement expressing his condolences to the family of the slain detective and the entire police force. "This type of crime cannot and will not be tolerated," the statement read. "I ask for the community's thoughtfulness and patience as the investigation continues and SAPD searches for the suspect."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also expressed his sympathy via Twitter.