Police Identify Alleged Trigger Man In Shooting Of Wilmington Police Officer
WILMINGTON, Del. (CBS) -- Authorities in Wilmington, Delaware held a press conference on Tuesday afternoon to identify the third man arrested for the shooting of a Wilmington police officer.
Police say 21-year-old Frederick Gray, of Wilmington, was the trigger man in the shooting of 34-year-old patrolman Justin Wilkers. Wilkers, a three-year veteran of the police force, was shot in the face Sunday afternoon after a traffic stop and ensuing car chase in the city's Southbridge section.
Authorities say Gray was wanted for violating his probation for a 2007 shooting, but confirmed that an arrest warrant, issued earlier, was not signed by a judge until Monday, the day after officer Wilkers was shot.
It's a different agency," Chief Christine Dunning said on Tuesday. "I'm not going to be here to belittle another agency publicly."
Police say parole officers played a key role in tracking down Gray, the third suspect involved. Two men were already in police custody as of Monday afternoon. 20-year-old Jared Wiggins and 21-year-old Ronald Boyce were arrested and face charges related to the shooting.
Wiggins, the alleged driver of the suspect vehicle, is charged with failing to obey a police signal, resisting arrest, and providing a false statement. Boyce is charged with resisting arrest.
Gray has been charged with attempted murder and is also facing weapons charges.
Wilkers was scheduled for surgery at Christiana Hospital on Tuesday to try to remove the bullet which was lodged in his skull.
He's not one-hundred percent out of the woods yet," said Dunning, "because you have to realize there was a lot of damage done."
