Flowers, flags, and other articles are placed as a memorial for slain Auburn Police Officer Ronald Tarentino outside the police station, Monday, May 23, 2016, in Auburn, Mass. Tarentino was fatally shot during a traffic stop in Auburn, authorities said. He leaves behind a wife and three children. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Republished May 23, 2016 - 2:13 PM
Original Publication Date May 23, 2016 - 5:20 AM
AUBURN, Mass. - The Latest on a police officer who was shot and killed in a central Massachusetts town (all times local):
5:10 p.m.
The suspect in the fatal shooting of a Massachusetts police officer had been arrested by state police last week without incident.
Authorities say Jorge Zambrano fatally shot Auburn police Office Ronald Tarentino early Sunday after Tarentino stopped him while he was driving an Infiniti QX4 with a license plate not registered to that vehicle. Late Sunday, police shot and killed Zambrano after he opened fire on them from inside a closet in a home in Oxford.
Last week, a state trooper stopped Zambrano driving the same vehicle with the same license plate, which was actually registered to a Nissan Maxima.
During last week's stop, the trooper arrested Zambrano without incident. He was charged with attaching plates, operating with a revoked license and operating an unregistered motor vehicle.
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1:45 p.m.
Police in a Massachusetts town are remembering a slain police officer as a "hero" after he was fatally shot during a traffic stop.
Former colleagues of Auburn police Officer Ronald Tarentino say he was a dedicated and caring officer who strongly believed in public service.
For seven years, Tarentino worked for the police department in the neighbouring town of Leicester (LES'-ter). He moved to the Auburn police force two years ago.
Leicester police Chief James Hurley says officers will miss Tarentino's "constant smile and infectious laugh." Hurley asked the public to remember Tarentino by supporting police officers.
Authorities say Tarentino was fatally shot early Sunday by Jorge Zambrano. They say Zambrano was killed by police late Sunday after he shot at police when they tracked him to a duplex in Oxford.
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12:20 p.m.
A Massachusetts police department has set up a memorial fund for the wife and three children of an officer who was fatally shot during a weekend traffic stop.
The Auburn Police Department says it has received an outpouring of support since Officer Ronald Tarentino was killed early Sunday.
Authorities said the suspect in Tarentino's killing, Jorge Zambrano, was shot and killed by police late Sunday, after he shot at police when they tracked him to a duplex in Oxford.
Donations can be sent to the Officer Ronald Tarentino Jr. Memorial Fund at Savers Bank in Auburn.
A state police trooper was wounded in the shoulder when police confronted Zambrano in Oxford. State police say the trooper is out of surgery and recovering.
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11:30 a.m.
A man suspected of fatally shooting a Massachusetts police officer had a lengthy criminal record.
Jorge Zambrano was released from prison in 2013 after serving time for trafficking in cocaine, assault and battery on a police officer and other charges.
Police say Zambrano shot and killed Auburn Officer Ronald Tarentino during a traffic stop early Sunday morning, then drove away from the scene. Zambrano later was shot and died.
Zambrano was sentenced in 2011 on a list of charges that also included assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, resisting arrest, and selling, using or possessing a firearm silencer.
State officials said he was released from a maximum-security prison in Shirley, Massachusetts, on Nov. 1, 2013.
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8 a.m.
The state police trooper injured in the exchange of gunfire with a man suspected of fatally shooting a Massachusetts officer is out of surgery and recovering.
A state police spokesman announced Monday that the trooper, whose name was not made public, had surgery late Sunday night for a gunshot wound to the shoulder.
He was hurt during the search for 35-year-old Jorge Zambrano, who was found in a second-floor bedroom of a duplex in Oxford. Zambrano had been hiding in a closet, apparently after sneaking into that side of the duplex from the adjoining unit.
Zambrano was shot and later died.
Police say Zambrano shot and killed Auburn Officer Ronald Tarentino during a traffic stop early Sunday morning, then drove away from the scene.
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12:20 a.m.
The manhunt for a suspect accused of fatally shooting a Massachusetts police officer has come to a violent end.
Authorities say 35-year-old Jorge Zambrano was shot to death Sunday evening at a duplex in Oxford after exchanging gunfire with police and wounding a state trooper. The trooper is an 18-year veteran and former U.S. Navy Seal. He's expected to survive.
Officials say the manhunt ended nearly 18 hours after Zambrano fatally shot Officer Ronald Tarentino during a traffic stop early Sunday morning in Auburn.
The 42-year-old Tarentino was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He had been with the Auburn police force for two years, and before that worked with the Leicester Police Department in his hometown. He leaves behind a wife and three children.
News from © The Associated Press, 2016