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The man who killed two officers after luring them to his home with a fake 911 call is said to have interacted with officers at a local bar earlier that evening.
Nicholas Brutcher and local police crossed paths at Bleachers Bar in Bristol, Connecticut, although it’s unclear what the interaction consisted of, according to CT Insider.
Previous reports suggested that Brutcher was kicked out of a bar before carrying out his frenzy, although it’s unclear if that was Bleachers Bar.
Bleachers declined to comment when approached by DailyMail.com.
The news comes as police released bodycam footage of Alec Iurato, 26, one of three officers who responded at Brutcher’s Bristol home last Wednesday.
When the police arrived, Brutcher suddenly opened fire on them and fired more than 80 rounds at the unsuspecting officers.
Dustin DeMonte, 35, and Alex Hamzy, 34, were both killed in the gunfight.
Agent Iurato was shot in the leg, but managed to run for cover, before finally finding an opening and killing Brutcher with a single shot. It remains unclear what motivated Brutcher to carry out the attack.
Nicholas Brutcher is said to have interacted with local agents at the Bleachers Bar in Bristol, Connecticut, earlier the same evening.
Alec Iurato, 26, was rushed to Saint Francis Hospital and operated on for serious gunshot wounds, where he is currently recovering.
Nicholas Brutcher, left, and Nathaniel Brutcher, right, allegedly lured two officers to their deaths on Wednesday night with a fake 911 call
Iurato’s body-camera footage showed the officer hiding behind a tree while desperately calling 911.
“Shoots fired, shots fired, more cars, send everyone!” Iurato screamed into his radio, while hysterical screams could be heard in the background.
“Officer shot, officer shot,” he reported then, leaning against the tree and moaning in the pain of his injured leg.
After another shot rang out, Iurato began to stumble toward his car for better cover, then a loud volley of nearly thirty gunshots erupted.
Iurato took cover behind a patrol car and peered over the hood, aimed and fired a single shot.
‘He’s down,’ someone was heard to say aloud as Iurato shone a light on the spot where Brutcher fell, before going on to yell ‘One down’ over his radio while someone whimpered ‘No! Oh God!’ out loud.
Iurato can be seen reflected in the patrol car he hides behind while aiming for Brutcher
Iurato shines a light on the spot where he shot and killed Brutcher moments earlier, ‘One down’, he shouted over his radio
Dustin DeMonte (left), 35, and Alex Hamzy, 34, were shot dead while responding to a 911 call of a domestic incident between two brothers in Connecticut
Police said Brutcher’s 9-11 was “a deliberate act to lure the police to the scene.”
A witness, Danny Rodriguez, said he heard three sets of shots and a total of 30 shots. He says he heard another woman screaming, “You killed them!”
“I heard a whole war going on behind me,” Rodriguez said, according to… COCO.
According to the New York TimesRodriguez saw a man dressed in camouflage leave Brutcher’s house with a rifle. Another man followed and tried to stop the camouflaged man before being shot.
Connecticut State Police Sgt. Christine Jeltema said state agents and detectives are still collecting evidence and the “very complex” investigation is ongoing.
She added it was an “isolated incident” with “no threat to the community” during a press conference.
Bristol Police Chief Brian Gould added that the deaths were the result of “senseless violence” that has brought “sadness and grief” to police.
“They answered a call to duty, and they responded without hesitation, and they did every night before that,” Gould said. “And that’s what all our officers do and will continue to do day in and day out.”
Nicholas Brutcher, 35, who was described as ‘noisy’ and ‘always drinking’, was shot dead on the spot
Neighbors said the divorced father of two was “always drinking” and was often around checking on his brother Nathaniel. Nathaniel was shot but not killed during Wednesday’s altercation.
Another neighbor described Nathaniel as a “skater punk” and “manly kid” who was constantly intoxicated and did little to get his life back on track.
“Nate is as high as a kite every time I see him. But cocaine doesn’t drive you to call the police and shoot them,” he said.
The neighbors also spoke of the Brutcher’s family, which included their mother and father, two brothers and an adopted sister.
“Their mother must be a wreck now,” a neighbor told the New York Post. “She’s crazier than a bag of chips, too.”
The neighbor added that the Brutcher’s father “has a very good heart. He’s been taking care of their mother and those boys for years. That guy is a strong man.’
Police are investigating Brutcher’s home where the officers were shot on Wednesday
Sergeant DeMonte was hired in 2012 and worked as a school resource officer, leaving behind his wife Laura and two young children Phoebe and Porter. The couple was expecting a third child.
“Words cannot express the sadness and sorrow that make me stand before you this morning,” said Gould.
DeMonte was named Officer of the Year 2019 and also served as an advisor to the explorer cadet program.
Officer Hamzy joined the patrol department in 2014, leaving behind his wife Katie, parents and two sisters.
Iurato was hired in 2018 and was also assigned to the patrol department.
It was discovered Friday that Brutcher was Facebook friends with agent Alex Hamzy, whom he is accused of murdering Wednesday night. Hamzy apparently spelled his last name backwards on the social networking site
Nicholas Brutcher, who reportedly shot at the officers before being killed in the ensuing gunfight, attended Bristol Central High School at the same time as the ex-New England Patriot
In a bizarre twist, it was discovered that Brutcher and Hamzy were Facebook friends with each other, apparently passing by Alex Yzmah on the social networking platform.
It’s not clear if the two actually knew each other.
It was also discovered that Brutcher attended Bristol Central High School at the same time as former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez.
Hernandez died by suicide in a Massachusetts prison cell in 2017, following his arrest and conviction for the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd.
He was acquitted of the double murders of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado and he appealed his conviction for the murder of Lloyd when he committed suicide at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Lancaster.
He was later determined to have had an advanced stage of CTE, which causes brain damage and is common in NFL players.
Brutcher and Hernandez both played on the school’s soccer team and had several mutual friends, according to the New York Post. It’s unclear if they were in any other relationship since Brutcher was a senior when Hernandez was a freshman.
Bristol police officers comfort each other at the scene of the shooting that left two dead on Wednesday
Police officers from all over Connecticut stood at the crime scene in Bristol where two officers were killed
The day after the shooting, dozens of Connecticut officers came to the scene of the attack to pay their respects to the fallen police officers.
Photos showed uniformed officers lining the street, and many wiped tears and hugged at the memorial.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont ordered flags to be flown at half-mast in honor of the fallen officers.
Mourners have left several floral tributes outside the Bristol Connecticut Police Department, which also has black flags over their signs.