Police Officer shot and killed in Windsor (en francais)

Latest reports have two youths in custody with police continuing a search for a third suspect. The Chief of Police and Mayor will be holding a press conference later this evening with further details.

The officer killed, John Atkinson, was a 15 year veteran who leaves behind a wife and two young children.

Update 6:00 am: Slain Officer's daughter turns seven today

Update 5:00 am: Windsor Police Services Media Release

Update 10:00 pm: Plain-clothes police officer in Windsor, Ont., shot and killed while on duty

Police officer in Windsor, Ont., shot and killed in parking lot: report at 17:27 on May 5, 2006, EST.

WINDSOR, Ont. (CP) - A police officer was shot and killed Friday in the parking lot of a Mac's Milk convenience store in a residential section of this southwestern Ontario border city, radio reports said.

Video footage of the scene showed a body under a blue sheet, and unidentified police sources told two media outlets that the dead man was a police officer. Witnesses said two young men shot the officer outside the Mac's Milk store in the city's east end just after 2 p.m.

A store employee identified as Emma said she saw two men in the parking lot when suddenly she heard gunfire.

"We heard gunshots and a guy was bleeding from his mouth, and then we were told he was a policeman," she said.

Police sources who asked that their names not be used told media sources in Leamington that it was a police officer who had died.

Witness Lloyd Menard said onlookers couldn't believe their eyes or their ears.

"At first, a couple of people thought they were just like poppers on the ground, but no, it was actually gunfire," he said. "My truck's got blood all over it, so those kids must have shot him right there."

The owner of the Mac's Milk declined to comment on the shooting, saying she was worried for her life.

Two suspects were reportedly taken into custody, and SWAT teams cordoned off a large area and launched a huge manhunt for a third suspect in a part of the city that has many vacant warehouses.

One report said the officer returned fire and may have hit one of the suspects.

Another report said the officer was a 15-year veteran of the force who was not in uniform. The body under the blue sheet appeared to be wearing jeans.

At least eight elementary schools and one high school in the area were locked down, keeping as many as 3,400 students indoors. A nearby day-care centre was also under lockdown.

Doug Fox of the Greater Essex County District School Board said all the students were safe, but were being held until police gave the all clear or parents arrived to pick them up.

"We don't want them to be anywhere near a place where they could be in danger," Fox said.

Nearby residents were also advised to remain in their homes.

Windsor police did not immediately return calls seeking comment, but scheduled a news conference for 8 p.m. ET at police headquarters to discuss the shooting.

The area where the shooting took place is on the other side of the city from the border crossing to Detroit.

Officials at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor said security had not been stepped up as a result of the shooting and that officials were taking no extra precautions.

One local resident said people in the city were unused to gun violence, despite their proximity to the United States.

Take a moment this evening to remember John Atkinson and his family in your thoughts.

Update: I turned off the comments on this post after seeing where they were going. This post was intended to be respectful and informative, nothing more. I suppose I should have made my intent clear.