Kentucky Cop Killed in 'Premeditated' Ambush

A police officer in central Kentucky was murdered by an attacker or attackers who apparently placed debris by a highway exit ramp and opened fire when the officer left his car to remove it. Jason Ellis, a 33-year-old K-9 officer, was shot multiple times with a shotgun around 2am Saturday in an attack that happened so quickly he never had a chance to pull his gun, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports.

Investigators say the attack was clearly premeditated, though it's not clear whether Ellis, who was on his way home from work, was the intended target. "Someone planned this, and someone planned to shoot someone at that spot and at that time," a police spokesman says. Ellis, a seven-year veteran of the Bardstown Police Department, is the first police officer killed in the line of duty in the small town's history, Reuters reports. He is survived by his wife and two sons. (More police shooting stories.)