A U.S. police officer was fatally shot Tuesday in the Kansas City while responding to a drive-by shooting, local media reported.
Police Captain Robert David Melton, 46, was hit multiple times in his patrol car by a suspect who jumped out of a car and opened fire at the officer, the report said.
The shooting took place while Melton, who later died in a local hospital, was pulling up to a man matching the description of the suspect in a previous drive-by shooting.
The suspect’s identity and motive remained unknown despite investigation at a nearby police custody.
This is the third shooting incident in the United States within the past two weeks that has involved killing of police officers and fueled racial tensions between blacks and police.
A black gunman ambushed and killed five police officers and wounded nine others on July 7, in Dallas, Texas.
Another black gunman on Sunday killed three police officers while wounding three others in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The police killings had been preceded by two widely reported fatal shootings of black men by police officers, on July 5 and July 6 in Baton Rouge, and St. Paul, Minnesota, respectively.
The incidents have sparked angry protests by African Americans across the nation against police brutality and racial discrimination against blacks in the country.
