BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho sheriff’s deputy was fatally shot on Saturday while attempting to conduct a traffic stop, authorities said.

>> Read more trending news

Tobin Bolter, 27, a deputy with the Ada County Sheriff’s Office was shot as he approached a vehicle during a traffic stop in Boise at about 9 p.m. MDT, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. Sheriff Matt Clifford said during a news conference on Sunday that Bolter was shot by a 65-year-old motorist, the Idaho Statesman reported. The deputy died moments before Clifford’s 10 a.m. MDT briefing.

Clifford said that video from the scene showed that Bolter “never even made it to the window” of the vehicle, according to the newspaper.

Bolter was the first sheriff’s deputy in the county to be killed in the line of duty, Clifford told reporters.

Officers with the Boise Police Department located the suspect about 30 minutes after the shooting at a residence in Boise, KIVI-TV reported.

Shortly after midnight, police said the suspect fired a weapon at officers, according to the television station. A Boise police officer returned fire and struck the suspect, who has not been identified. He was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Clifford said the suspect had a $3,000 misdemeanor warrant out for his arrest, but he said he was unsure why the suspect shot Bolter, the Statesman reported.

“It will take a long time for healing,” Clifford said during the news conference. “It’s one of those things that can never be forgotten.”

Bolter joined the sheriff’s department in January, the Statesman reported. He was a seven-year veteran of law enforcement and previously worked with police departments in Meridian and Pleasant Hill, California.

“There is absolutely no excuse or justifiable reason for this violence perpetrated against law enforcement officers in our community,” Boise police Chief Ron Winegar told reporters, according to the Statesman. “I am both angered and heartbroken at the same time.”

© 2024 Cox Media Group