DALTON, New Hampshire — A New Hampshire state trooper is in stable condition after being shot on Wednesday night and a suspect is dead after a traffic stop, according to the attorney general’s office.
The fatal shooting occurred just after 9 p.m. in Dalton, a town located just west of Mount Washington, after the trooper stopped a driver on Bridge Hill Road and there was an “exchange of gunfire” between the suspect and the trooper, according to a statement from Attorney General Gordon J. MacDonald’s office.
The male suspect was pronounced dead at the scene from apparent gunshot wounds and the injured trooper was taken to a local hospital with gunshot wounds and was last in stable condition, the attorney general’s office said.
Officials did not release any details on what led to the traffic stop or the exchange of gunfire. The man was alone in the car at the time of the stop, and according to the statement, police said he was “armed with a rifle and a handgun.”
The attorney general’s office said an autopsy is scheduled for Thursday to determine the manner and cause of death as well as confirm the man’s identity.
Officials said per protocol, the trooper’s name is being withheld until he’s been formally interviewed. The trooper was not wearing a body camera and the trooper’s cruiser did not have a dashcam, the statement said.
In a statement early Thursday, New Hampshire State Police said the department “is unable to comment on an active investigation being conducted by the attorney general,” but urged the public to “keep the trooper and their family in your thoughts and prayers.”
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu tweeted Wednesday, “New Hampshire is praying for our State Trooper injured in the line of duty. I have made all state resources available to assist in this critical investigation.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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