Texas police detective shot dead while writing traffic ticket

On Sunday, San Antonio Police Detective Benjamin Marconi, 50, was shot dead while writing a traffic ticket in his squad car. Marconi had pulled over a driver outside police headquarters, and when he returned to his car, a second vehicle pulled up behind him, and an unidentified person walked up to the window, shot him twice in the head, and drove away, San Antonio police Chief William McManus said. Marconi, a 20-year veteran of the force, was pronounced dead at the hospital. Officers have been advised not to make traffic stops alone.

McManus said police do not believe the gunman had any relation to the motorist Marconi pulled over, and they're searching for a motive, including the possibility that it was related to an officer-involved shooting earlier Sunday, when he said San Antonio police shot dead a man who pointed a gun at them after a seven-hour standoff. "We consider this suspect to be extremely dangerous and a clear threat to law enforcement officers and the public," McManus said at a news conference. "Hopefully, we'll solve this one real quick." The police department posted a photo of a person of interest in the case on its Facebook page.

Also on Sunday, police officers were shot and wounded on the Florida island of Sanibel, during a traffic stop, and in St. Louis, where an officer in his car was shot twice in the face in a drive-by shooting. The police shooting in Sanibel was a first for the police department, and the officer's condition is unknown. The St. Louis officer, 46, is reportedly in critical but stable condition.

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