Round up all the registered gun owners, case closed.
Via Courier Post:
Two Camden County police detectives escaped with their lives Tuesday evening when a gunman opened fire on them at close range, authorities said.
“They were essentially ambushed,” Camden County Police Chief Scott Thomson said of the attack at Broadway and Mount Vernon Street around 8:30 p.m.
He said the officers were sitting in an unmarked vehicle at a red light, when a man walked up and opened fire. The gunman shot “between 10 and 25 rounds,” including some that went through the vehicle’s windshield, the chief said.
The unnamed officers, a male and a female, were rushed to Cooper University Hospital for treatment of wounds that the chief said were not life-threatening.
Thomson credited that outcome to “the grace of God.”
One detective managed to return fire at the gunman, who fled the scene, the chief said.
“We don’t know if his rounds struck anyone or anything,” he said of the detective.
Thomson said police were checking with area hospitals for anyone arriving with gunshot wounds.
“We have a rapidly unfolding investigation to identify and apprehend the perpetrators,” he said.
Thomson said the detectives were in plainclothes and were working in a “non-enforcement capacity” at the time of the attack.
He said the suspect had walked up to the police vehicle before the “completely unprovoked” shooting.
Thomson acknowledged it was not clear if the detectives had been targeted as law enforcement officers.
“At this point in time, we’re not speculating as to the mindset,” he said.
“Maybe they did thank they were police officers,” he said. “Maybe they thought they were somebody else, We’ll find out.”
The female officer was shot in the hand, a police officer told the Courier-Post. No details about the other officer’s injuries was available.
The shootings occurred on National Night Out, an annual celebration designed to build partnerships between police officers and the communities they serve. The Camden County Police Department was among those participating, with officers attending community events throughout the city.