Three officers and a police dog were killed, and several other officers were injured after Kentucky police tried to serve a warrant Thursday evening, officials said.
Earlier Friday, state police said that two officers and a police dog were killed, and four other officers were wounded. An emergency management official was also injured, according to an arrest citation.
On Friday night, Prestonsburg police said on social media that a third officer, canine handler Jacob R. Chaffins, died.
The Floyd County Sheriff’s Office and Prestonsburg police identified the other two slain officers as Deputy William Petry and Prestonsburg police Capt. Ralph Frasure.
Prestonsburg Mayor Les Stapleton in a statement earlier Friday had said that Chaffins was one of the officers who was injured.
Frasure had worked 39 years in law enforcement, and Chaffins was just beginning his career, Stapleton said.
Police took 49-year-old Lance Storz into custody late Thursday night.
Floyd County Sheriff John Hunt told NBC affiliate WSAZ of Huntington, West Virginia, that deputies were attempting to serve a court-issued warrant and the suspect opened fire.
The responding officers encountered “pure hell” when they arrived on the scene, Hunt told reporters Friday.
“They had no chance,” he said.
Hunt said four deputies initially responded, and then called for backup when shots were fired at them. Kentucky State Police were called to the scene around 6:30 p.m., joining local officers already on the scene.
The officers at the scene were under fire for hours, Hunt said.
Hunt said Storz surrendered after negotiations that included Storz’s family members.
Storz was arraigned Friday morning by a judge in Pike County. He pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder of a police officer and was jailed on a $10 million bond. He is also facing another attempted murder charge and assault on a service animal.
Storz used a rifle to fire multiple rounds at officers around his residence on Main Street in Allen, Kentucky, the arrest citation said.
Hunt said four deputies initially responded, and then called for backup when shots were fired at them. Kentucky State Police were called to the scene around 6:45 p.m., joining local law enforcement.
The officers at the scene were under fire for hours, he said.
Storz surrendered after negotiations that included his family members, Hunt said.
Storz was arraigned Friday morning by a judge in Pike County. He pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder of a police officer and was jailed on a $10 million bond. He is also facing another attempted murder charge and assault on a service animal.
Gov. Andy Beshear asked for prayers for Floyd County, and for the families of those killed.
"Britainy and I are praying for the families of those lost, those injured and the entire Allen community. These heroes sacrificed everything to protect our people," he tweeted.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which also responded Thursday night, expressed condolences.
Kentucky "lost the finest of police during an ambush yesterday in Floyd County" and that "these men gave their lives protecting others," the ATF said Friday.
Allen is a small community of 182 people in eastern Kentucky, around 25 miles from the West Virginia border, according to census data.
