Teens shoot cop then turn gun on themselves
A teenage couple have shot dead a US police officer then turn the gun on themselves, the Orlando Sentinel reports this morning.
Early Saturday morning, British 17-year-old Alexandria Hollinghurst and her American boyfriend Brandon Goode were reportedly stopped by a police officer as they walked down a street in the ritzy Florida suburb of Orlando.
Windermere officer Robert German called for back-up but when police arrived they found the 31-year-old lying dead on the road.
The Orlando Sentinel says that police then heard two gunshots "a block away". They found the Hollinghurst and Goode with self-inflicted gunshot wounds in the grounds of $2.5 million house.
The shootings took place in the same exclusive community where Tiger Woods previously lived with ex-wife Elin Nordegren.
Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings told the Orlando Sentinel it appeared both Goode and Hollinghurst had committed suicide, but her family, who had emigrated to the US from Great Manchester, believes she may have been murdered by her boyfriend.
The dead officer was wearing a body camera. Sheriff's investigators said they would analyse any images retrieved from the device.
Goode was arrested only a few weeks ago for marijuana possession, alcohol possession by a minor and for having drug paraphernalia but all were first time offences, according to the Sentinel.
Hollinghurst had no criminal record and only graduated from high school a year earlier.
The small community is reeling from the loss of the much-loved police officer.
"Windermere's heart is broken," Mayor Gary Bruhn said.
Mr Bruhn called on residents to tie a blue ribbon on mailboxes and light poles to show support for the town's police.
"There is a sadness throughout Windermere right now, not just at the Police Department and town offices, but at the stores, businesses and homes," Mayor Bruhn told the Sentinel. "Officer German was well-known and well-liked…one of those men who would take the time to stop and talk to people, and that's one of the reasons he said he liked working in Windermere, because he could do just that."
There were also tributes on Facebook to the officer of fice years. "Robbie was one of the greatest men I have ever known," Tara Boers wrote on a Facebook page dedicated to German. "He loved being a police officer even knowing the risks involved. My daughter and I feel such loss today and will love him forever."
