Whisper
#byefelicia
Lawrence Campbell, who shot and killed Jeresy City cop Melvin Santiago, also died.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/cri...er-killed-line-duty-reports-article-1.1864902[...]
rookie Jersey City police officer was fatally shot early Sunday by a depraved gunman who apparently wanted to become “famous” by killing a cop.
Officer Melvin Santiago was just 23 years old and had been on the force for only seven months when he was killed responding to an armed robbery call at a 24-hour drug store
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Lawrence Campbell, 27, one of three suspects wanted in connection with a prior Jersey City homicide, was waiting outside the Walgreens about 4 a.m. after having forcibly taken a firearm from a security guard,
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Despite the nature of the 911 call, the gunman “did not rob or attempt to rob the Walgreens, but proceeded to wait for the Police Department to arrive — approximately four minutes,”
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“Surveillance cameras show Campbell walking outside and speaking to a witness, at which time he apologized for his conduct in Walgreens and told the witness to watch the news he is going to be famous,”
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Santiago and his partner, an Officer Martinez, were in the first police car first to arrive at the scene.
Campbell approached the police vehicle at close range and fired into the vehicle with the door open striking Officer Melvin Santiago in the head,”
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He then fired three more times at a second marked police car striking the windshield, in attempt to kill two more officers. Officers in the subsequent car and first car returned fire, striking Campbell and killing him.”
The shocking incident left Santiago’s family and an entire city struggling with anger and grief.
“He didn’t even make it a whole year,” said his weeping step-father, Alex McBride, 50. “I can’t believe it.”
Santiago’s mother, Cathy McBride, stepped outside her home to vent her anger
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“He is a piece of s---,” the anguished mom said. “My son was 23 years old and he was a good boy. And he didn’t deserve to get a bullet in his head for no reason.
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It was his dream and he was living his dream, but at the same time he didn’t have to die like that. All because somebody wanted to be famous. My son did not deserve that.”
Fulop spoke on behalf of a city in mourning.
“Today was a horrible day for Jersey City,”
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The encounter at the Communipaw Ave. and JFK Boulevard West drug store began innocently enough.
“Lawrence Campbell entered the Walgreens asked the security officer directions to purchase a greeting card,”
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“Campbell proceeded in that direction, left the store and circled back. Campbell, who had a knife, then assaulted the security officer, taking his weapon.”
Within minutes, both Campbell and Santiago were dead.
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step-dad said the slain officer wanted nothing more than to be a cop.
“He scored the second-highest on the police test. He scored a 98. That’s why they called him up right away,” Alex McBride said. “He was a very smart kid. He loved going to work. He wanted to be in the action. That was the kind of guy he was.”
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devastated step-dad said Santiago died immediately.
“They said he was just gone on the spot,”
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“He didn’t even have a fighting chance. I wish I could have got my hands on the knuckle head who did this. I can’t believe it.”
Santiago, a graduate of Create Charter High School in Jersey City, spent a year at Seton Hall University and worked at a Target store before becoming a cop,
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Santiago’s 13-year-old brother, Alex Jr., looked up to him.
“He was talking about (becoming a police officer), since Melvin was,”
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“I hope he changes his mind. It feels like a dream. It doesn’t seem real. They took my boy.”
Santiago’s aunt, Aggie Hernandez, said it was a relative who inspired her nephew to join the force.
“His uncle was also a police officer. This is what he wanted to do,”
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said through sobs. “He was just an amazing person. He was our baby.
Santiago was pronounced dead at Jersey City Medical Center.
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A Jersey City Police a Department tent pitched near the entrance contained the body of the suspect, which was removed around 10 a.m.
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One young woman being held up by another woman looked like she was about to faint.
A police car was still on the scene, with 13 bullet holes in the windshield. The vehicle’s back window was blown out.
My God, it sounded like fireworks,” said a local resident named Mike
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“The amount of shots, and so fast, like ‘Pow, pow, pow, pow!’ And then I heard the sirens. Those shots went on forever. I really thought it was fireworks.”
Mike said he doesn't come to the area of the city at night and the businesses are always targets for robberies.
“There’s no big staff in there at that time of the night in the Walgreens,”
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“And it’s 24 hours. I wouldn't go in there late at night.”
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he felt terrible for the slain officer.
“That poor cop. He was so young,”
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to kill someone for what? A robbery? My god.”
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A police cruiser pulled up in front of the store, and the suspect began shooting, Belviso said.
“We thought he was running, coming toward us,” said Belviso, who was riding along with a friend. “He kept on shooting.”
The driver witnessed bullets fly through the cruiser's windshield, and other police cars appeared on scene, and officers fired at him,
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An armed security guard at the store told authorities that the suspect struck him and took his weapon. Police believe the security guard’s weapon was used in the shooting
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Santiago is the first Jersey City officer killed in the line of duty since Detective Marc DiNardo was killed in July 2009 during a raid on an apartment searching for suspects in a robbery, officials said.
“It is a tragic situation when any officer is killed in the line of duty,”
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“Melvin was an officer who represented everything one would want to see in a police officer. I know the entire city's thoughts and prayers are with the Santiago family during this difficult time and we mourn together.”
New Jersey Department of Corrections records show that Campbell was jailed for three months from Feb. 18, 2011, to June 24, 2013, and four months from Aug. 17, 2013, to Jan. 21, 2014, for dealing drugs on school property.
Officer Melvin Santiago was shot in the head and killed in Jersey City, N.J., early Sunday morning.
Cathy McBride, the mother of of slain Jersey City Police Officer Melvin Santiago.
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Officer Melvin Santiago's stepfather Alex McBride.