Trooper was killed by friendly fire

Friendly fire apparently killed a state trooper in a gunfight that erupted as he searched a Catskill-area farmhouse for a suspect in the shooting of a colleague, officials said.

Trooper David C. Brinkerhoff was fatally shot Wednesday as he and six other members of the force’s elite mobile response team searched the house where the armed suspect had holed up.

Brinkerhoff, 29, and another trooper were shot by the suspect, Travis Trim, as the two entered an upstairs bedroom. However, investigating authorities said that it was one of the estimated 70 police rounds fired that killed Brinkerhoff.

Officers were not aware that Trim had been fatally wounded until hours later, after the farmhouse was destroyed by fire. A tear gas round shot inside apparently landed on a bedspread, starting the blaze. Trim’s badly burned body, holding a rifle, was found inside the bedroom.