suspect captured in <u+2018>ambush-style<u+2019> killings of two iowa cops 11/02/2016 




usa today 




authorities captured a 46-year-old male suspect without incident wednesday, hours after an early-morning <u+201c>ambush-style<u+201d> killing of two police officers in the des moines metro area. 




the suspect in the back-to-back killings was identified as scott michael greene, said urbandale police spokesman sgt. chad underwood. before capturing him, police had described greene, who was last seen driving a blue ford f-150 with an iowa license plate, as armed and dangerous. 




greene was taken into custody by the dallas county sheriff<u+2019>s department while walking along a rural road in redfield, about 35 miles west of where the shootings occurred. 




according to police, greene flagged down a passing department of natural resources officer, handed over his id and told the officer to call police. no shots were fired and there was no struggle, according to police. 




the suspect was taken by ambulance to a des moines hospital with an unknown injury. 




in a late morning news conference, police identified the slain officers as urbandale police officer justin martin and des moines police sgt. anthony <u+201c>tony<u+201d> beminio. 




the attacks began around 1:06 a.m. ct, when police departments from both cities responded to reports of gunfire at the intersection of 70th street and aurora avenue in urbandale. 




the first officers arriving on the scene found martin fatally wounded. about 20 minutes later, some two miles away, beminio was was shot near the intersection of merle hay road and sheridan ave. while responding to reports of the first officer<u+2019>s shooting. beminio was transported to iowa methodist medical center, where he died. scott michael greene (photo: des moines police) 




both officers were gunned down in their patrol cars. 




<u+201c>it doesn<u+2019>t look like there was any interaction between these officers and whoever the coward is that shot them while they sat in their cars,<u+201d> a visibly emotional parizek told reporters. 




<u+201c>in all appearances it looks <u+2026> that these officers were ambushed,<u+201d> he added. officer from des moines and another from urbandale were shot and killed in their cars, @dmpolice said. #officersdown 




<u+2014> daniel p. finney (@newsmanone) november 2, 2016 




des moines police, fearing officers were being singled out, paired up its patrol officers so none were on the street alone, parizek said. 




<u+201c>there<u+2019>s literally a clear and present danger if you<u+2019>re a police officer,<u+201d> he said. 




police did not offer many details on how investigators identified greene as a suspect. underwood said he was identified <u+201c>through a series of leads and a series of investigative tips.<u+201d> 




as of an early-morning news conference, police were still notifying the family members of the slain officers and planned to withhold the officers<u+2019> names, years of service and other details until later in the day, parizek said. 




attorney general loretta lynch condemned the killings, saying <u+201c>violence has no place in the united states of america.<u+2019><u+2019> 




<u+201c>let me be clear, there is no message in murder,<u+2019><u+2019> the attorney general said, referring to simmering distrust between law enforcement and many communities across the country. <u+201c>violence creates nothing; it only destroys.<u+2019><u+2019> a des moines police officer was found fatally shot in a vehicle near the intersection of merle hay road and sheridan avenue in des moines on wednesday, nov. 2, 2016. (photo: brian powers, the des moines register) 




it<u+2019>s the first time des moines has seen a police officer shot and killed in the line of duty since two officers were gunned down in separate incidents in 1977. 




two des moines officers, susan farrell and carlos puente-morales, died earlier this year when their vehicle was struck head-on by a wrong-way drunk driver. 




the killing of the urbandale officer appeared to be the city<u+2019>s first for an officer shot in the line of duty, underwood said at the news conference. 




parizek thanked the community for its support when the department lost farrell and puente-morales, as well as with this tragedy. 




<u+201c>i don<u+2019>t even know where to begin on how bad this year is,<u+201d> he said. but, <u+201c>this is what we do. we come in day in and day out, we go out there and provide the same level of service regardless of what<u+2019>s going on in our personal and professional lives.<u+201d> officers investigate the scene at merle hay and sheridan ave. where an officer was found shot at about 1:26 a.m. on on wednesday, nov. 2, 2016, in urbandale. 




in a statement, iowa gov. terry branstad called the attack on the officers <u+201c>an attack on the public safety of all iowans.<u+201d> 




<u+201c>we call on iowans to support our law enforcement officials in bringing this suspect to justice,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the police officers who were tragically killed in the line of duty as well as the officers who continue to put themselves in harm<u+2019>s way.<u+201d> 




iowa sen. joni ernst extended her thoughts and prayers to the families of the officers killed. 




<u+201c>although the investigation is still unfolding, what appears to be an ambush attack of police in the line of duty is an attack on the community at large and all of the men and women who risk their lives every day to protect us,<u+201d> ernst said. <u+201c>this was a senseless act of violence and it cannot be tolerated.<u+201d> 




finney and haley report for the des moines register. follow them on twitter: @newsmanone and @charlyhaley . stanglin reports for usa today in mclean, va.
suspect captured in <u+2018>ambush-style<u+2019> killings of two iowa cops
alex ansary