Florida Cop Murdered While Responding to a Call
Officer Charles Kondek, a Tampa officer and veteran of the NYPD, was reportedly shot and killed by a 23-year-old man while responding to a service call Sunday morning.
Kondek, 45, was investigating reports of a man banging on apartment doors, around 2 a.m. Sunday when he was gunned down and later pronounced dead at the Florida Hospital North Pinellas.
According to Reuters, 23-year-old Marco Antonio Parilla Jr. was arrested for the shooting after fleeing the scene and crashing into a telephone pole and another vehicle.
A neighbor told the Tampa Bay Times that Parilla—a resident of the apartment building—had been banging on the doors trying to determine who had called the cops on him the previous week.
Parilla was able to make a statement as officers transferred him to booking, telling gathered reporters, "I apologize to the family. That was not my intention."
Kondek leaves behind five children, officials say.