Manhunt Underway for Suspect in Cop's Slaying

Authorities launched a manhunt Wednesday after a gunman shot and killed a police officer during a traffic stop in a small California town, the AP reports. In an alert, the California Highway Patrol said the suspect, whose name was not known, is considered to be armed and dangerous. Newman Police Officer Ronil Singh, 33, had called in the traffic stop early Wednesday and a few minutes later reported shots fired over his radio, the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department said in a statement. Multiple agencies responded and found Singh with gunshot wounds. They rushed the husband and father of an infant boy to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. Ground and air units were searching for the suspect based on surveillance photos taken at a convenience store shortly before the attack.

The suspect was believed to be driving a gray Dodge Ram pickup truck when the shooting occurred in Newman, about 100 miles southeast of San Francisco. "We have sent out information to law enforcement up and down the state, as well as outside California," said Sgt. Tom Letras said, a sheriff's spokesman. In the photos, the heavyset suspect with short dark hair is wearing a thick chain necklace. jeans, a dark hoodie and dark-colored T-shirt. Singh was a native of Fiji and had worked since July 2011 for the police department in Newman, a town of about 10,000 people. Earlier in his career, Singh worked as a deputy with the Merced County Sheriff's Department. Singh is survived by his wife, Anamika, and a 5-month-old son, authorities said. (A "devastating tragedy" for Chicago police.)