A Maryland State Police trooper was shot Monday night while conducting a traffic stop in Wicomico County.
One suspect is dead and two others are in custody in connection with the incident that began when the trooper attempted to stop a vehicle on eastbound Route 50 near Vienna Scale House at about 10 p.m. Monday, March 6, 2023, Maryland State Police said in a release.
The trooper, who has not been identified, was transported to TidalHealth Peninsula Regional in Salisbury for treatment of injuries sustained in the shooting. He is an 18-and-a-half-year state police veteran, the release said.
The dead suspect is identified as Keiford Lee Copper III, 23, of Trappe. He was the driver of a Toyota Prius at the time of the incident. Copper was confirmed dead on the scene by emergency medical service personnel from Hebron.
According to the state police release, the trooper from the Easton Barrack attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the Toyota Prius. As he approached the passenger side of the vehicle, the driver pulled out a firearm and fired at the trooper, striking him several times, per the release. The trooper returned fire, the release said.
It said none of the occupants in the vehicle was struck. The driver fled the scene, traveling eastbound on Route 50.
A trooper on his way home heard the broadcast and immediately responded to the scene, where he found the injured trooper suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
He provided the trooper medical treatment on scene until EMS arrived. The injured trooper was then taken to the hospital.
Shortly after 10 p.m., officers from the Delmar Police Department located the suspect vehicle in the area of eastbound Route 54 and Providence Church Road in Delmar.
Officers followed the vehicle to the 600 block of Elizabeth Street, a dead-end residential street in Delmar.
The driver, later identified as Copper, attempted to turn the vehicle around, but he hit the curb, crashed into two vehicles, and came to rest after hitting a tree.
Police surrounded the vehicle and found Copper alone in the vehicle and slumped over the wheel with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, per the release. No shots were fired by law enforcement at the scene of the crash.
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Shortly before 12:30 a.m., a 9-1-1 call reported two unidentified men with hooded sweatshirts walking around a neighborhood in Hebron. Troopers from the Salisbury Barrack responded to the area and found the two men walking on Porter Mill Road toward Route 50. They were taken into police custody without incident, police said.
State Police Homicide Unit investigators are conducting an investigation. Crime scene technicians from the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division processed both crime scenes. A gun was recovered in the Toyota Prius, per the release.
The Wicomico County State’s Attorney was briefed by investigators. Upon completion of the investigation, it will be provided to the state’s attorney for review.
The State Police Internal Affairs Unit is conducting a concurrent investigation. The trooper involved in the shooting has been released from the hospital and placed on administrative leave, as is procedure.
