This week has been marked by a string of violence and police shootings around our nation. Five officers have been shot since Sunday, leaving one dead, three injured, and another still fighting for his life.
Reports confirm that “three of the incidents appeared to be targeted attacks and involved law enforcement officers sitting unsuspectingly in their patrol cars, either waiting in traffic or after pulling vehicles over for traffic stops.”
A San Antonio Police Detective Benjamin Marconi was fatally shot while sitting outside police headquarters, and a St. Louis officer, while in his patrol car, was shot twice in the face but survived.
Both of these incidents appear to be ambush shootings and both officers were 20-year veterans of the police force.
“Police officers were also shot and injured during traffic stops in Sanibel, Florida, and Gladstone, Missouri, on Sunday night, but authorities have not suggested those were targeted attacks.”
The latest incident which happened yesterday in Detroit, involved a Michigan college police officer who was shot in the head while on patrol near campus. Officer Colin Rose is a 29-year-old, five-year veteran of the department who works in the canine unit.
According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, a third of police officers who were fatally shot while on the job this year were purposely targeted by the attacker.
"Officers are at tremendous and growing risk; they're being targeted because of the uniform they wear and the job they do," said Craig W. Floyd, president of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
Floyd went on to say that Detective Marconi from San Antonio was the 60th officer who had been shot to death this year, compared to a total number of 41 from 2015. He was also the 20th to die in an ambush-style attack, compared to a total of eight from last year.
“Over the last several days, the nation has witnessed a disturbing spate of violence against law enforcement officer across the country,” Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch said in a statement on Monday. “These reprehensible acts cannot be tolerated and they again remind us of the significant hazards that public safety officers confront each and every day on our behalf.”
Please join us in praying for these officers, their families, and for all who put their lives at risk daily in order to protect our nation.
Read more by Debbie McDaniel at www.debbiemcdaniel.com, https://www.facebook.com/DebbieWebbMcDaniel/, or https://twitter.com/debbmcdaniel.
Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com
Publication date: November 23, 2016
