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MIDDLETOWN, Del. (AP) — The Latest on the shooting of a Delaware state trooper (all times local):
4 p.m.
A Delaware state trooper killed in the line of duty was remembered Thursday as a family man who was warm and always smiling.
Cpl. Stephen J. Ballard was fatally shot Wednesday in the parking lot of a convenience store in New Castle County. Authorities say Ballard had approached a vehicle with two suspicious people inside before the passenger, 26-year-old Burgon Sealy Jr. shot him. The driver was arrested Wednesday at the scene and Sealy, who fled, was fatally shot Thursday by police.
The 32-year-old Ballard was a 2007 graduate of Delaware State University, where he majored in criminal justice. He graduated from the police academy in 2009.
Lt. Thomas Brackin, the president of Delaware State Police Troopers Association, says Ballard was a "very dedicated family man" and "very well-liked and respected by those he worked with." He leaves behind a wife and a 5-year-old stepdaughter.
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2 p.m.
Police have identified the man who fatally shot a Delaware state trooper and was later killed by police as 26-year-old Burgon Sealy Jr.
State police superintendent Col. Nathaniel McQueen said at a news conference Thursday that Sealy shot the trooper multiple times after the trooper fell to the ground from Sealy's initial gunshot. Cpl. Stephen Ballard died at a hospital.
McQueen says Sealy was shot by officers Thursday morning after he emerged from his house after a lengthy standoff and "engaged with police" while armed. Sealy died minutes later.
The home where Sealy barricaded himself is registered to his father. Records show Sealy had been arrested in 2013 on gun and drug charges. A childhood friend, Scott Adkins, says Sealy was fond of guns as early as middle school.
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10:30 a.m.
Authorities say a man suspected of fatally shooting a Delaware state trooper has been shot and killed by officers after an overnight standoff.
Delaware State Police announced in a statement that the man walked out of the home Thursday morning, "engaged officers" and was shot by law enforcement. He died at the scene.
The unidentified man suspected in the trooper's fatal shooting had been barricaded inside the house in Middletown since Wednesday as police tried to make contact and persuade him to surrender. Police say officers outside came under fire Wednesday evening and early Thursday. Police blew off the front door and several windows, but didn't immediately enter the home.
The trooper, Cpl. Stephen Ballard, was slain Wednesday in the parking lot of a Wawa in Bear while investigating a car with two suspicious people.
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9:30 a.m.
The Delaware convenience store where a trooper was fatally shot in the parking lot will remain closed until the weekend.
Media outlets report that Wawa officials said in a statement that they are "deeply saddened" after the shooting in the parking lot of the store in Bear on Wednesday. They say the store will remain closed until Saturday "out of respect to the officer, our associates and all those affected."
The trooper was slain shortly after noon Wednesday in the parking lot. Police say the trooper was investigating a car with two suspicious people inside when one man got out and opened fire. Authorities say a man suspected in the fatal shooting remains barricaded early Thursday inside his house, where he fired shots at officers as they tried to negotiate a peaceful surrender.
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6:30 a.m.
Delaware State Police say officers have come under fire again at a home where the suspect in the fatal shooting of a state trooper is holed up.
Police said in a statement that officers came under fire at the home in Middletown about 4 a.m. Thursday. Police say they blew off windows with explosives, but have not entered the home. On Wednesday night, they blew the front door off its hinges, but did not enter.
A man suspected of killing a state trooper has been inside the house since Wednesday. Police say they're trying to make contact with the man to persuade him to surrender.
The trooper was slain shortly after noon in the parking lot of a convenience store. Police say the trooper was investigating a car with two suspicious people inside when one man got out and opened fire.
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4 a.m.
Authorities say a man suspected of shooting and killing a Delaware state trooper outside a convenience store remains barricaded early Thursday inside his house, where he fired shots at officers as they tried to negotiate a peaceful surrender.
Cpl. Stephen J. Ballard, 32, was shot several times about 12:10 p.m. Wednesday after he approached a vehicle in the parking lot of a Wawa convenience store near Bear.
State police superintendent Col. Nathaniel McQueen says the vehicle had two suspicious people inside.
McQueen says one man got out of the car and shot Ballard several times before running away. The other man was arrested at the scene.
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