2 police officers ambushed, killed in Iowa: 5 things to know

Two police officers were shot and killed early Wednesday in a pair of ambush-style attacks in the Des Moines, Iowa, area.

Authorities apprehended a suspect in the case Wednesday, although they have not said why the man is suspected of opening fire on the officers. The officers were killed as they sat in their patrol cars at two separate scenes, Des Moines police said.

Here are five things to know:

1. The officers appear to have been ambushed, Des Moines police Sgt. Paul Parizek said at an emotional news conference.

"It doesn't look like there was any interaction between these officers and whoever the coward is that shot them while they sat in their cars," Parizek said. "These guys were gunned down sitting in their car(s), doing nothing wrong so there's definitely some danger out there. There's somebody out there shooting police officers. We hope we find him before anybody else gets hurt."

Urbandale police Chief Ross McCarty said investigators believe the gunman walked up to the officers' cars and opened fire. The Urbandale officer's car had between 15 and 30 rounds shot at it, McCarty said.

2. Authorities identified the slain officers as Urbandale police Officer Justin Martin, 24 and Des Moines police Sgt. Anthony "Tony" Bemino, 38.

Martin joined the Urbandale Police Department in 2015. He ended his probationary period and took on the full duties of a sworn officer over the summer, McCarty said.

Officers found Martin shot and killed in his patrol car when police responded to a report of shots fired around 1:05 a.m. CT.

Bemino joined the Des Moines Police Department in 2005. He was found shot in his patrol car at an intersection and taken to a local hospital, where he died.

3. The man suspected of shooting the officers is in custody, Urbandale police spokesman Sgt. Chad Underwood told The Des Moines Register.

Police earlier identified the suspect as Scott Michael Green, 46, and warned that he should be considered armed and dangerous.

According to the Register, Greene surrendered to an officer with the Department of Natural Resources in Dallas County. The arrest was peaceful, the newspaper reported.

4. Urbandale officers are equipped with body cameras, Underwood said. However, it was not immediately clear whether the shootings were caught on camera.

5. The Des Moines officer was the first killed by gunfire since August 1977, when Officer Dennis Earl Hill was killed while responding to a report of shots fired, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. The page tracks reports of law enforcement deaths across the country.

No Urbandale officers have died in the line of duty, according to the Memorial Page.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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