BRISTOL, Conn. — Two Bristol police officers are dead and one recovering from serious injuries after being shot by a suspect Wednesday night.
The events began around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday when the Bristol Police Department received a phone call reporting a domestic violence incident at 300 block of Redstone Hill Road.
Neighbors in the area said it was around 10:43 p.m.-10:45 p.m. when they saw police arriving at the home with their lights off. Those officers we now know were Sgt. Dustin Demonte, Officer Alex Hamzy, and Officer Alec Iurato.
When Demonte, Hamzy, and Iurato arrived at the scene, they were confronted by one of the suspects, later identified as 35-year-old Nicholas Brutcher, who was outside of the home. The suspect immediately began firing, striking all three of them. Neighbors said the scene "sounded like a warzone."
Bristol police said Saturday that after Iurato was struck, he returned fire, which killed Nicholas.
Hamzy and Demonte were fatally struck with one pronounced dead at the scene and the other after he was rushed to Bristol Hospital. Iurato was also rushed to the hospital and underwent surgery at Saint Francis Hospital for his serious gunshot wound.
Nicholas was shot and pronounced dead at the scene. Nathan Brutcher, Nicholas' 32-year-old brother, was taken to an area hospital for treatment of his injuries.
Around 3:15 a.m. Thursday, state police notified the public that they were on the scene of an officer-involved shooting with injuries.
Overnight, a large law enforcement presence was seen at both hospitals, with first responders gathering in support at Bristol Hospital for what would later be confirmed as Demonte and Hamzy.
Two and a half hours later at 5:40 a.m., police confirmed that two officers were killed in the shooting.
One of the officers was escorted from Bristol to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner at 7 a.m. As the procession headed to Farmington, Gov. Ned Lamont announced that he would be ordering U.S. and state flags to be lowered to half-staff in honor of the fallen officers.
The procession traveling down Route 6 to Route 4 took about 30 minutes. Waiting for them was again a large law enforcement presence from surrounding towns and communities to pay their respects.
At a press conference held by state and Bristol police at 8:30 a.m., Delmonte, Hamzy, and Iurato were identified as more details about the incident were laid out. State police said that the shooting was an isolated incident and that there was no threat to the public.
Another officer was escorted from Bristol to Farmington at 11 a.m. Both processions lasted 30-40 minutes.
Iurato was released from a hospital Thursday morning.
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State police, the officer of the inspector general, and the state attorney's office are investigating the double-fatal shooting.
This is a developing story.
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Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
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