Detroit police officer shot dead, another wounded in home invasion

[November 21, 2019]    (Reuters) - One Detroit police officer was shot and killed and another was wounded on Wednesday while investigating a home invasion in the city's westside, police said.

A 17-year veteran of the police force was fatally shot in the neck with a high-powered rifle and the second officer was seriously wounded in the leg, police chief James Craig told reporters.

Other officers returned fire and shot the unidentified gunman. The suspect was arrested at the scene and was in a serious condition in hospital.

"Today is a tragic day for the Detroit police family," Craig said.

"As they began to go downstairs, the suspect who was armed with a high-powered rifle, began to open fire on the officers."

In 2018, 55 police officers were killed by weapons in the line of duty, according to statistics released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru and Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Stephen Coates)

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