15-year-old kills 2 officers

GEORGETOWN, Ind. – The final words of a 15-year-old boy who ambushed two police officers responding to a disturbance at his parents’ home were haunting and matter-of-fact.\n“I’ve just killed two cops. Goodbye,” Tyler Dumstorf wrote in a message posted on his MySpace profile just minutes after fatally wounding one officer and seriously injuring another.\nThe message capped a 14-minute standoff with police that ended when Dumstorf was found dead early Tuesday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his parents’ home about 15 miles outside Louisville, Ky.\nFloyd County Prosecutor Keith Henderson said the shootings should be a warning to communities that teen violence should not go overlooked.\n“It’s important that we just don’t pass this on and say it’s another tragic occurrence for police,” Henderson said. “We should never expect, nor should we ever accept, the violence.”\nDeputy Frank Denzinger, a four-year veteran of the sheriff’s department, and Deputy Joel White had gone to the home Monday evening to investigate a call from the teen’s mother about a confrontation with her son.\nThe boy immediately ambushed them from an upstairs window with a World War II sniper rifle Dumstorf’s father had taught him to fire. Officers were talking to Dumstorf’s mother and aunt in the driveway when the shots came, said Sgt. Jerry Goodin, spokesman for the Indiana State Police.\nEach deputy was struck once in the back. White returned fire but missed.\nTyler Dumstorf, who had just completed his freshman year at Floyd Central High School in nearby Floyds Knobs, Ind., was due in court Tuesday on a misdemeanor marijuana charge, Henderson said. The charge was a subject of the argument between the teen and his mother, but Henderson said it was premature to say it was the reason for the shooting.\n“There was nothing to indicate to the officers that it was anything more than a routine domestic call,” he said.\nA spokesman would not elaborate on Dumstorf’s time at the school, citing federal privacy laws. Postings on the teen’s MySpace page indicated he was an honor roll student.\nSuperintendent Dennis Brooks of the New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corp. pledged to cooperate with police.\n“I do not know why the student did what he did,” Brooks said during a brief news conference Tuesday in New Albany, Ind..\nThe weapon police say fired the fatal shot was a relic known as an M1 Garand used mostly by enthusiasts as a showpiece. Henderson said the boy’s father bought the gun some time ago and that the two shot it together during target practice.\n“The cause of yesterday’s tragedy isn’t the weapon. It’s the person who fired it,” Henderson said.\nThe teen’s father, James Dumstorf, and a companion were arrested Monday night on public intoxication charges. Henderson said the charges were unrelated to the shooting but would not elaborate.\nThe shooting rattled Dumstorf’s neighborhood, where dozens of families were evacuated until 2:30 a.m., and friends, who posted eulogies and messages on Dumstorf’s MySpace page.\nOne read: “ur never gonna get this but why did you do it? when i left, u were still talking about joining the army and killing terrorists, not police officers.”\nHenderson urged parents to get involved with their children.