Police officer, suspect killed in Omaha shooting

[Paladin]

Sadly another officer down and this time a female.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska man opened fire Wednesday on officers who were trying to arrest him for a previous shooting, prompting police to return gunfire in a shootout that left one officer and the suspect dead, Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said.

Officer Kerrie Orozco, 29, died at Creighton University Medical Center shortly after the 1 p.m. shooting, Schmaderer said at a news conference. Schmaderer said the suspect, 26-year-old Marcus Wheeler, also died at the hospital.

Schmaderer said Orozco was part of a fugitive task force looking for Wheeler to serve a felony arrest warrant. Wheeler, who was wanted on a warrant charging him in an earlier shooting, opened fire on the officers as they approached him. Officers fired back, and Wheeler was later found behind a neighbor's house suffering from gunshot wounds, the chief said.

A semi-automatic handgun was also found on Wheeler, Schmaderer said.

"Mr. Wheeler is a convicted felon and a known gang member," he said.

Orozco was a seven-year veteran of the department and worked in its gang unit, Schmaderer said. She was also a new mother with a premature baby who is in an Omaha hospital.

http://www.charter.net/news/read/article/the_associated_press-police_officer_suspect_critically_hurt_by_gunfire-ap