NY correction officer kills Mass. cop, shoots ex and kills himself

Officer Kevin Ambrose

A Rikers Island officer stalked his terrified ex-girlfriend to Massachusetts, where he shot her in the head, executed a veteran cop and then committed suicide.

Shawn Bryan's 1-year-old daughter was in the Springfield, Mass., apartment during Monday afternoon's explosion of violence but she was not hurt.

The murder-suicide unfolded after Bryan's ex, Charlene Mitchell, 29, went to court Monday and took out an order of protection against him.

"He is a demon," she wrote in her application, saying he was physically abusive before they broke up last July, according to the Springfield Republican.

She said he was supposed to pick up a TV from her family over the weekend but didn't show and instead barraged her with text messages, including one that said; "I'm going to make you wish you were not born."

The judge ordered him to stay away from her, but at 1 p.m. Mitchell called 911 to say Bryan was on the way to the house and she feared for her life, police said.

Springfield Police Officer Kevin Ambrose arrived at the scene to find Mitchell, 29, and Bryan outside. After a conversation, all three made their way up to the third-floor apartment.

Suddenly, Bryan, 34, pushed Mitchell inside and shut the door. Using his registered 9mm semiautomatic, he fired at Ambrose through the door, then opened it and fired at the cop again, police said.

Bryan then turned the gun on Mitchell and shot her in the head, critically wounded her. He ran out to his car, where he fatally shot himself in the chest.

When backup arrived, the officers found Ambrose on the floor in the hallway and began pumping his chest, but the 36-year veteran died at Baystate Medical Center.

Mitchell was fighting for her life after surgery at the same hospital. Her 1-year-old daughter with Bryan was in the custody of child welfare authorities.

Bryan had been a correction officer since August 2009. He last worked at Rikers on Saturday and was scheduled to return to his post on Tuesday.

Mitchell described him as mentally unstable and domineering.

"He had always told me that he is crazy and that his head is not good," she wrote in her application for the order of protection.

He was licensed to carry his weapon in New York but was supposed to surrender it to Massachusetts authorities after the order of protection was issued.

"We are shocked and saddened by today's events. Each of us takes an oath of office to preserve and protect the lives of others," Corrections Commissioner Dora Schriro said in a statement.

"This is an unspeakable tragedy. We express our heartfelt condolences to the family of Springfield Police Officer Kevin Ambrose, his fellow officers in the Springfield Police Department and the City of Springfield."

Ambrose, 56, was married with two grown children and one grandchild. His brother is a police sergeant.

"Officer Kevin Ambrose was a great police officer. He will be sadly missed by his fellow officers," said Springfield Sgt. John Delaney. "I have known him since I became a police officer.

"When speaking to him recently about retirement he said, 'Why leave? I love my job,'" Delaney said. "He is someone that I always looked up to."

By Sarah Armaghan / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS