A 27-year-old Arkansas police officer who was “ambushed and executed” as he sat in his patrol car outside his headquarters earlier this month was shot 10 times in the head by a gunman who was interested in anti-law enforcement groups, investigators said.
The new details in connection to the “heinous” killing of Fayetteville Police Officer Stephen Carr were disclosed Friday as investigators released new surveillance footage that captured the gunman, identified as 35-year-old London Phillips, approaching the squad car and opening fire.
Two police officers later shot and killed Phillips.
“We have hesitated to release the attached video of what transpired that night due to the heinous and shocking nature of this crime, but in an effort to keep the public informed of exactly what happened that night, we are releasing video of the incident along with the results of the Arkansas State Medical Examiner’s preliminary findings,” the Washington County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a statement.
The sheriff’s office said’s been investigating the “ambush and execution” alongside the FBI, at the request of Fayetteville Police Chief Mike Reynolds.
One of the five videos showed Phillips approaching Carr’s patrol vehicle from behind. It later showed him firing shots at the vehicle as he walked away and reloaded his gun. Sheriff’s investigators said Phillips fired 16 rounds and had reloaded the weapon with another full magazine containing 17 rounds.
Police said Phillips shot Carr at point-blank range using a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun he bought legally in 2017. A search of Phillips’ social-media accounts showed he had an interest in anti-law enforcement groups, the sheriff’s office said without elaborating. – read more