Two Connecticut police officers shot dead, one wounded in ambush

By Brendan O'Brien

(Reuters) -Two police officers in central Connecticut were killed and another wounded by a gunman who lured them to a residence with a fake 911 call and opened fire, state police said on Thursday, adding the suspect also died in the shootout which happened a day earlier.

Officers from the city of Bristol responded to a call at 10:30 p.m. local time Wednesday and were met by the suspect, Nicholas Brutcher, 34, outside of a residence where a domestic disturbance had been reported, Connecticut State Police said in a statement.

Officer Alex Hamzy, 34, was killed in the exchange of gunfire. Sergeant Dustin Demonte, 35, was fatally wounded and died after being taken to Bristol Hospital. Officer Alec Iurato, 26, was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, where he was undergoing surgery for serious wounds.

"Words cannot express the sadness and grief that brings me before you this morning," Bristol Police Chief Brian Gould said as his voice briefly cracked during a news conference on Thursday.

"Our community has been rocked, our police department has been rocked," he said, calling the fallen officers "heroes."

Brutcher was killed at the scene while his bother Nathan, 32, was wounded and taken to the hospital, police said.

Connecticut State Police said it appeared that the 911 call was a deliberate act to lure law enforcement to the scene, calling it a "very complex, ongoing investigation."

The shooting occurred about a half-mile from the headquarters of the ESPN sports television network in the community of 700,000 people, located about 20 miles (32 km)southwest of Hartford, the state capital.

(Additional reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Bernadette Baum and David Gregorio)