Today's paper.
A Delaware State Police trooper was wounded and a suspect fatally shot during an exchange of gunfire following a pursuit in the Magnolia area of Kent County, state police said.
The wounded trooper has been identified as Cpl. Lloyd M. McCann.
The suspect has been identified as Dennis Hicks, 29, of Milford.
Hicks has a lengthy record as an adult, according to court records.
The incident happened about 7 a.m. Wednesday, Sgt. Paul Shavack said. He said Hicks was pronounced dead at 8:47 a.m. at Bayhealth/Kent General Hospital in Dover.
McCann, a 26-year-old assigned to Troop 3 near Camden and a four-year veteran of the force, was shot twice -- in the cheek and hand -- and was in stable condition. He was initially taken to Kent General and then flown by police helicopter to Christiana Hospital in Stanton shortly before 10 a.m. His wife was with him at the hospital. Five state police cars were stationed outside the emergency entrance.
"He certainly is counting his blessings today," said Col. Nathaniel McQueen, superintendent of the state police, who spoke outside Kent General after visiting McCann.
When asked what the trooper said during his visit, McQueen said, "He's thankful for their shift mates for their response and he knows that he's doing what he loves to do."
McCann is alert, conscious and oriented, Shavack said. "He's doing really well."
Shavack said the man killed was being sought in connection with a domestic incident in Magnolia. His girlfriend had reported he had choked her about 12:30 a.m.
Hours later, McCann spotted the man's car and after a short pursuit, the man stopped the car at the intersection of West Birdie and Bay Hill Lanes, off South State Street north of Magnolia, and opened fire.
He said McCann returned fire and was wounded during the exchange.
One bullet struck a building at the nearby Linkside townhomes, but no injuries were reported there.
McCann was taken to Kent General by other troopers. The suspect was taken by ambulance.
South State Street was closed at the intersection with Birdie Lane between Dover and Magnolia for the investigation, but has since been reopened.
Three hours after the shooting, the area of Birdie and Bay Hill lanes remained cordoned off, with a state police patrol car with driver's side window shattered and the suspect's vehicle -- a small Honda sedan -- still in the intersection, 100 yards east of South State Street. At least 10 yellow evidence markers were visible on the pavement, with paint circles marking where shell casings were found.
A state police helicopter hovered over the scene at 9:50 a.m.
Neighbors in the nearby townhomes and apartments were outside watching the investigation, which is near a small shopping center that includes a gas station and a Walgreens pharmacy.
Amber Gordon, whose home was struck by the stray bullet, said she was getting ready to leave for work at Delaware State University and heard the noise of the gunshots but didn't realize what they were. She then walked to her front door and saw a man laying on the street. She said at the time she thought, "Oh yeah, this is real."
She said, "This is a really quiet neighborhood and everyone tends to keep to themselves."
"I probably don't know many of my neighbors," she said about three hours after the shooting while sitting on her front steps. But then she joked that she did Wednesday because many came up and asked how she was. One introduced herself.
"I think every state trooper from the closest three troops was out here," Gordon said.
Nina Charles, who lives in the nearby Linkside apartments, said she "was surprised to see anything in this area. It's normally quiet." She said she had her windows up and did not hear the shooting but later came outside to watch.
Normally at that hour she said she's outside on a power walk. "Thank God I wasn't out there."
She added that she was relieved that school wasn't in session and no children were nearby.
One person who was visiting at the townhomes, who declined to give her name, said she heard the incident unfold.
"I heard gunshots. That woke me up." She said she doesn't feel there's any place safe from gunshots anymore.
At Kent General, marked and unmarked police vehicles from state and other agencies took many of the spots outside the ambulance entrance, where a few officers stood.
Gov. Jack Markell visited the wounded trooper there earlier, Shavack said.
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News Journal photographer Gary Emeigh and reporter Terri Sanginiti contributed to this report.
Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3.
