WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. - A Maryland State Trooper was shot Monday night around 10 p.m. during a traffic stop. The shooting happened on Route 50 near the Vienna scale house.
According to police, a trooper from the Easton Barrack approached the passenger side of a Toyota Prius to speak with the driver when the driver brandished a gun and fired at the officer, striking him several times. The trooper returned fire. None of the three vehicle occupants were struck and the driver left, traveling east on Route 50.
Another officer on his way home responded to the scene and provided the injured trooper with medical treatment until emergency medical services arrived. Police say he had multiple gunshot wounds and was transported to TidalHealth Peninsula Regional in Salisbury.
Shortly after the shooting, officers from the Delmar Police Department located the suspect vehicle in the area of Providence Church Road in Delmar and followed it to the 600 block of Elizabeth Street, which is a dead-end residential road.
The driver, later identified as 23-year-old Keiford Lee Copper, III, of Trappe, tried to turn the car around, according to police, when he hit the curb, crashed into two other vehicles, and hit a tree before stopping. Police surrounded the vehicle to find Copper alone in the vehicle, slumped over the wheel with what they say was an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police say there were no shots fired by law enforcement at the crash site. Copper was confirmed dead at the scene. A gun was recovered in the Toyota.
Two additional people were taken into custody around 12:30 a.m. after a 911 call reported two men with hooded sweatshirts walking around a Hebron neighborhood on Porter Mill Road. Police have not yet released their identities.
The trooper involved in the shooting has been released from the hospital and placed on administrative leave, as police say is procedure.
Investigations conducted by the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit and Internal Affairs Unit. Upon completion of the investigation, details will be provided to the state's attorney for review.