VIENNA, Md. — A State trooper is recovering after being shot in the line of duty Monday night on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
It all started around 10pm when the trooper pulled over a Toyota Prius on Route 50 near the Vienna Scale House.
Upon approaching the car, the driver allegedly pulled out a gun and fired multiple times leaving the trooper wounded.
The trooper, identified as sergeant Brooks Phillips, shot back but missed, as the driver fled the scene with two passengers.
Another trooper who was on their way home at the time heard what happened over the radio and was first on scene to assist their injured colleague. The trooper was taken to TidalHealth Peninsula Regional in Salisbury, and later released.
Meanwhile local officers in nearby Delmar found the gunman, 23-year-old Keiford Lee Copper, III, of Trappe, driving along Elizabeth Street, which is a dead-end road in a residential community.
Copper then hit a curb and struck two vehicles, before colliding into a tree.
Officers noticed that Copper was now alone inside the vehicle, slumped over the wheel suffering from an apparent self inflicted gunshot wound. A gun was recovered from the car.
The two people who were originally traveling with Copper during the shootout were located walking on Porter Mill Road towards Route 50. Both were taken into custody and later let go without charges.
