A Danville, Ohio, police officer was found dead last night shortly after his department received a tip about local cops being "in danger," according to NBC News. He was one of only six officers in the department, which overlooks a town of just more than 1,000 people.
Officer Thomas Cottrell was found dead, his service weapon and police cruiser missing, not long before midnight, reported NBC News. A female caller contacted the police department at 11:20 p.m. to warn that her ex-boyfriend, Herschel Ray Jones, had "left with weapons and was looking to kill an officer," according to Fox News.
Dispatchers then attempted to make contact with Cottrell, but had to send the sheriff's office to search the village after being unable to reach him, according to the Associated Press. His cause of death was not immediately disclosed, but Franklin County Sheriff's Officer Chief Jim Gilbert tweeted: "Prayers for Ohio's first fallen officer for 2016 a Danville PD Officer was shot/killed this evening in Knox County."
Jones was taken into custody at approximately 1:36 a.m. after he was seen leaving a Danville residence on foot, according to NBC News. He has a criminal record that already includes charges for breaking and entering, burglary, carrying a concealed weapon and receiving stolen property, reported NBC News. He served almost four years in prison for convictions related to charges of receiving stolen property and possession of chemicals for the manufacture of drugs, according to the Associated Press.
The AP reported that the president of the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police, Jay McDonald, referred to Cottrell's death as an assassination and "the latest reminder of how dangerous police work is and how the police are targeted for violence."
