WATCH: 1 cop killed, another wounded in wild New Year's Day gunbattle
A sheriff's deputy was shot and killed and another officer severely wounded in a wild shootout at a trailer park in suburban Springfield, Ohio, Saturday.
Deputy Suzanne Hopper, a 40-year-old married mother of two children, was investigating a report of gunshots fired at the Enon Beach trailer park when she was shot and killed by a shotgun-wielding madman inside one of the trailers, Clark County Sheriff Gene Kelly said.
A fierce gunbattle ensued, as the gunman fired at officers who tried to retrieve Hopper's body.
A resident of the trailer park, which is about 50 miles west of Columbus, said she could see Hopper lying on the ground from her window and watched as another officer tried to reach her body.
"He was itching to get her," Angelina Inman told The Associated Press. "He kept radioing in, can he please get her, and he was told no because it wasn't secure. You could see that male sheriff crying -- he wanted to get her, he wanted to get her bad."
More police arrived on the scene and spent several minutes trying to convince the man to come out and surrender.
Shortly after, "all hell broke loose," another neighbor said, as the officers began firing at the man's trailer with handguns and automatic weapons.
Another officer, German Township patrolman Jeremy Blum, was wounded during the shootout.
The video shows Blum screaming in agony and tossing his gun away as he attempts to crawl to safety.
The gunman inside the trailer was killed by what Kelly said he believed were police bullets.
Blum was flown to a nearby hospital and was reportedly in stable condition.
At an emotional press conference following the incident, Kelly said Hopper had been taking photos of the scene when she was shot. She never had the opportunity to take cover, Kelly said.
Kelly said he had known Hopper since she was in the police academy and called her a "just a good person" and an "outstanding deputy."
"This is the worst day in my 24 years as sheriff of Clark County," Kelly said, his voice shaking with emotion.
Neighbors said the suspected shooter, who has not been identified, was a loner with a bad temper.
"He was a quiet person, but if you made him mad -- he wasn't very pleasant," 15-year-old Chelsea Bagley told the AP.

A Clark County deputy, left, and German Township Patrolman Jeremy Blum, right, open fire on a trailer. (Gorby/AP)
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