Authorities looking into alleged gunman Nick Brutcher's background after deadly shooting of Bristol officers
BRISTOL, Conn. -- Investigators looking into the deadly ambush of two Bristol police officers are piecing together the gunman's background and the sequence of events leading up to the shooting.
As CBS2's Tony Aiello reported, they were the first police officers killed in the line of duty in Bristol since the 1940s.
Friday, people stopped at the crime scene to see for themselves the dozens of bullet holes at the home rented by suspect Nick Brutcher. They pockmark the garage, the siding and a cooler left on the porch at 310 Redstone Hill Road.
Neighbor Lance Stevens came running outside Wednesday night when he heard the first shots.
"It was scary. To be honest, it really was," said Stevens. "I didn't see much. You just heard, you heard shots fired and you heard a lady screaming."
Police believe Brutcher lured cops to the home with a fake 911 call and that he waited outside, dressed in camouflage, before opening fire on police with a rifle.
Officer Alex Hamzy and Sgt. Dustin DeMonte were killed. Officer Alec Iurota was injured.
The suspect, fatally shot, may have interacted with police earlier that night at a sports bar, which has been closed since the shooting.
Court records show Brutcher was divorced in 2019. His wages were garnished to pay an overdue $6,000 credit card bill.
Brutcher's Facebook account shows an affinity for guns and hunting. Locals said he drank heavily at bars in the area and several said he was acquainted with Officer Hamzy from high school.
The community grieves as police work to answer questions.
"So sorry for all their families, and their loved ones," said Linda LeVesque.
A memorial at the Bristol Police Department grew by the hour Friday. Kim Kichar wore a black and blue ribbon. Her son Mark is a cop who graduated from the academy with DeMonte.
"It's really rough for him. He's having a really hard time. He was really good friends with both of them, Dustin and Alex," said Kichar.
Friday afternoon, the Yankees showed the slain officers' pictures on the jumbotron and held a moment of silence in their honor before Game 2 of the American League Division Series.
