Pennsylvania State Police Corporal Killed in Traffic Stop Murder-Suicide

A Pennsylvania State Police corporal was fatally shot during a routine traffic stop in Chester County on Sunday evening, in an incident authorities described as a murder-suicide.

Corporal Timothy O'Connor Jr., a 15-year veteran of the force, was killed around 8:30 p.m. near the intersection of Compass and Michael roads in West Caln Township, about 45 miles west of Philadelphia. According to Lt. Col. George Bivens, the acting state police commissioner, O'Connor had responded to a report of an erratic driver and radioed that he was initiating the stop. As he approached the vehicle, the 32-year-old driver, identified as Jesse Nathan Elks of Honey Brook, fired shots from inside the car, striking O'Connor. Elks then exited the vehicle, walked a short distance and fatally shot himself with a pistol.

Emergency responders transported O'Connor to Paoli Hospital in Willistown Township, where he was pronounced dead. A solemn procession later moved his body to the Chester County coroner's office. Bivens noted that fellow troopers had rushed to the scene after O'Connor failed to respond to radio checks, discovering the tragic outcome.

O'Connor, who enlisted in 2010 and was promoted to...