A British teenager and her American boyfriend gunned down a US police officer in Florida before turning the weapon on themselves minutes later, police say.
Alexandria Hollinghurst, 17, and Brandon Goode, 18, were stopped by a police officer as they walked down a street in a wealthy residential suburb of Orlando, Florida in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Police Officer Robert German encountered the pair while on a routine foot patrol and immediately called for back-up after deeming them suspicious.
But when back-up police arrived on the scene, they found the officer had been shot and was lying fatally injured in the road with the teenagers nowhere to be seen.
According to US police chiefs, the officers then had to run for cover as at least two gunshots went off about one block away.
A search was carried out and they found the teenagers dead from apparently self-inflicted gunshot wounds in the grounds of multi-million dollar home.
US authorities said it appeared both Goode and Hollinghurst - known as Alex - had committed suicide, but her family believes she may have been murdered by her boyfriend.
Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said last night: 'It appears they likely committed suicide.'
Last night a major investigation was under way into the deaths, but it is believed Hollinghurst originally came from Oldham, Greater Manchester, and her family had emigrated to the US. The dead officer was wearing a body camera.
Sheriff’s investigators said they would analyze any images retrieved from the device.
Fallen hero: Officer Robert German
German came across the pair while conducting foot patrols Saturday morning, in the same exclusive gated community that Tiger Woods and ex-wife Elin Nordegren previously had a home, and immediately called for backup.
'The deputy knew he had a suspicious set of circumstances, so he called for backup,' said Demings, in footage of the press conference shown by WESH.
Officers from Apopka, Orlando and two sheriff's deputies soon arrived and were forced to take cover as the additional gunshots shattered the predawn silence.
'They heard gunfire in the background,' Demings continued. 'They went up and used the police vehicles to shield themselves and the officer,'
The officers held their ground until Orange County Fire and Rescue arrived to take German to a local hospital. Attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful, he was soon pronounced dead at Orlando Regional Medical Center, said Demings.
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