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On Sunday night, two police officers, Syracuse police officer Michael E. Jensen and sheriff Lt. Michael Hoosock, were shot and killed outside Christopher R. Murphy's home on Darien Drive.
It was revealed by Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick that Murphy had been doing cocaine that day with his friend, Shawn Kinsella. The two of them had been long-time friends, and Kinsella told investigators that they had spent some time doing lines of cocaine earlier that day.
There is also speculation that the cocaine may have played a role in the shooting, and any remaining cocaine found inside Murphy's house will be collected by officers and analyzed to see if it was laced with anything.
It is unclear whether Murphy was legally allowed to possess the Springfield AR-15 gun that he used to shoot the officers. The trouble started with a traffic stop at 7 p.m. in the city's Tipp Hill neighborhood, where Syracuse police tried to pull over a car, but the driver refused and sped off. The police took the plate number, which led them to Murphy's home. There, police saw guns in the back of the car, and then heard the sound of a gun being readied to fire from inside the home.
After that, gunfire filled the neighborhood as the officers and the suspect exchanged shots. It's still not clear how many total shots were fired, but on a recording from a nearby home, the gunshots lasted about nine seconds, with shots firing off so fast that it was impossible to count how many were fired.
Murphy also died from gunshot injuries from officers. Kinsella, who was with Murphy earlier that day, was caught trying to jump over a fence, but he has not been charged with any crime at this point.
Murphy's only prior interaction with the police was a 2014 drunken driving arrest, which also included a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest. It's unclear why Murphy decided to ambush the officers, but Syracuse Police Chief Joseph Cecile said there was something in Murphy's past which "may be some indicator" as to why he shot two officers.
However, Cecile declined to provide specifics. Fitzpatrick said that he hopes Kinsella will remain cooperative with law enforcement, and no charges are contemplated against him at this time unless new evidence emerges.
