A routine traffic stop in rural Chester County turned fatal Sunday night when a veteran Pennsylvania state trooper was shot and killed by a driver who then took his own life, authorities say. Corporal Timothy O’Connor, 40, a 15-year member of the Pennsylvania State Police, was identified by Gov. Josh Shapiro, who ordered flags lowered to half-staff Monday, NBC10 reports. O’Connor, assigned to Troop J’s Embreeville station, leaves behind a wife and young daughter.
Acting State Police Commissioner George L. Bivens said O’Connor responded around 8:16 pm to a report of an erratic driver in the Honey Brook area. About 10 minutes later, he located the vehicle in West Caln Township and radioed in a traffic stop at roughly 8:24pm When O’Connor approached the driver’s side, the suspect opened fire, Bivens said. Troopers, who rushed to the scene after O’Connor stopped answering his radio, found him fatally wounded. Police identified the driver as 32-year-old Jesse Nathan Elks of Honey Brook. Police said that after Elks shot O’Connor, he got out of his vehicle, walked a short distance, and fatally shot himself, CBS News reports. Elks had no serious criminal record beyond traffic citations, police said.
Shapio said he told O’Connor’s wife and parents that many questions about the shooting remain, “but the one thing that we absolutely know for certain is that their son, their husband, was a hero and he died protecting others,” the AP reports. The governor added: “That is a noble calling and that is something we are profoundly grateful for.” On social media, O’Connor’s mother wrote: “My brave, fearless son gave his life tonight. Always the vigilant protector until the end. Mom has it from here.”