A 21-year-old Cincinnati man and a veteran police officer died during a shootout in what officials are calling a case of “suicide by cop,” according to USA Today.
Trepierre Hummons reportedly shot and killed Officer Sonny Kim, 48, on a city street after posting a goodbye message on Facebook Friday morning, the report says.
“We lost one of our best today,” Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell told reporters at an emotional afternoon news conference, the report says. “Our hearts are broken.”
Before the shooting broke out about 9 a.m., Hummons reportedly posted on Facebook, “I love every last one of y’all to whoever has been in my life. … You’re the real mvp,” the report says. He also reportedly sent several text messages to friends indicating that he was planning to cause police to kill him, Blackwell said.
Hummons allegedly called 911 to report himself, twice saying a man with a gun was acting erratically and then described himself to the emergency dispatcher. In a 911 recording, a man is heard speaking frantically about a “belligerent” young man “in his early 20s” with a gun in his waistband, according to the Daily Mail. When asked about the man’s race, he replies, “A black man, of course,” the report says.
Kim, who was wearing a bullet-resistant vest, was shot multiple times, the report says.
Read more at USA Today and the Daily Mail.