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Dec. 28 (UPI) -- A Canadian cop was fatally shot while responding to a vehicle in a ditch, just minutes after he had passed the probation period to become a police officer. Constable Grzegorz Pierzchala, 28, of the Ontario Provincial Police, responded to the scene on Indian Line Road in Haldimand County at about 2:40 p.m. Tuesday, the CBC reported.
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When he arrived, he was shot in the chest and the leg. He died at a local hospital.
The suspect, Randall McKenzie, 25, allegedly fled in a black Chevy pickup but was soon arrested along with Brandi Stewart-Sperry, 30. McCkenzie and Stewart-Sperry were charged with first-degree murder on Wednesday.
Pierzchala learned that he had passed his 10-month probationary period on the force right before he left to respond to the vehicle, OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique said.
"This is a man who, at 5 years old, decided he wanted to be a police officer and he had a brief opportunity to live out his dream and to do his best to keep our community safe," Carrique said, the Hamilton Spectator reported.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he was "horrified" by the officer's death.
"Thank you to the officers who apprehended the suspects without incident," he said in a tweet. "Our first responders are true heroes. We share in the pain felt by family, friends and the entire police community as Ontario mourns this loss."
