Officer ‘gunned down’ while on duty; suspect in custody: Cops

Authorities in Alabama say one of their own was fatally shot while on duty Sunday and a suspect in the homicide has already been arrested.

According to Fox News, Mobile Police Officer Sean Tuder was working on an ongoing investigation at the Peach Place Inn when investigators say he “was gunned down by a suspect.”

Police soon identified 19-year-old Marco Perez as a suspect in the case, though it was unclear whether he is believed to have been the shooter.

Though Tuder had been with the agency for less than five years, he had already been named Officer of the Month. In August 2017, the department cited “his numerous drug arrests, with four cases being sent for federal prosecution, and recovering six firearms.”

Mobile Police Chief Lawrence Battiste went on to describe Tuder as “one of those guys that certainly resonates in your mind as somebody that’s a true leader, a true commitment to doing his best in this community, to keep it safe and to be a role model for others.”

Tuder’s is the second on-duty police death in the agency within a year, prompting Battiste to ask locals to keep the agency and the officer’s survivors in their prayers.

“I don’t know what’s going to be the change,” he said, urging tipsters to help officers find “bad seeds” responsible for “wreaking the most havoc in their community.”

Mayor Sandy Stimpson also issued a statement in which he called Tudor one of the city’s “best and finest.”

[Featured image: Marco Perez and Sean Tuder, Mobile Police Department]