June 20 (UPI) -- A Sacramento police officer died Thursday after a gunman opened fire on officers responding to a domestic disturbance call, officials said.
Acting Sacramento police Chief Dave Paletta said officer Tara O'Sullivan, 26, died in the hospital following surgery.
The suspected gunman barricaded himself in a home where he fired at police for several hours. After a 7-hour standoff, police were able to get him to surrender. No other injuries were reported.
A procession of marked cars with lights and sirens on transferred O'Sullivan's body to the coroner's office, Paletta said.
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"We are devastated tonight," he said. "There are no words to convey the depth of sadness we feel or how heartbroken we are for the family of our young, brave officer."
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said O'Sullivan was a hero and should be remembered as a groundbreaker.
"This is a horrible night for the city of Sacramento," he said.
O'Sullivan was shot in the yard of the Noralto neighborhood while escorting a woman involved in a domestic situation. The officer's body lay in the backyard because the gunman kept firing. It took more than 45 minutes for officers to reach her and take her to a hospital.
Officials said at one point, the gunman threw his cellphone out the door. Police gave it back with a police robot and began negotiating. The suspect finally emerged and was arrested early Thursday. The neighborhood had been sealed off for 7 hours.
O'Sullivan is the first Sacramento police officer to have been killed in the line of duty in 20 years.
