Maryland police officer Jacai Colson was killed Sunday in what officials are calling an unprovoked attack in Landover, a suburb of Washington, D.C.
A four-year veteran of the Prince George’s County police department, the 28-year-old Colson was killed when a man walked up to the police station and opened fire outside the front doors as officers
rushed out to stop the attack, The Washington Post reported.
Two men, including the suspect and a man thought to be his brother, are in custody, The Post said. They were identified as Malik Ford and Michael Ford of Temple Hills.
“He was a great kid,” Colson’s football coach at Randolph-Macon College told the newspaper. “A really respectful kid and just a high-character young man. He treated everyone with respect.”
Chief Hank Stawinski called the attack, which happened around 4:30 p.m.,
unprovoked, WTVR-TV reported.
"It wasn't about anything,” he said. “This man launched an attack on a police station. Officers weren't in the process of apprehending him or engaging him in any way. They were going about their business on a Sunday afternoon, at their home, when they were attacked."
Several officers fired back at the suspect, who was wounded but
expected to survive, according to The Associated Press.
"Those officers did not shrink. They bravely advanced and engaged this individual," Stawinski said, according to the news agency.
Prince George's County State's Attorney Angela Alsobrooks promised an aggressive investigation and called the attack an "act of cowardice," the AP said. The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting in the investigation.
Twitter users were saddened by the officer’s death.