A Police Officer, well-known by the Jewish community in Oak Park, Detroit Michigan, was tragically gunned down early Sunday morning – just yards away from the Yeshiva Gedolah building – in the heart of the Jewish community. Officer Mason Sambroski was well-known in the community as an officer who did his job with devotion, and assisted members of the Jewish community who were victims of a few recent anti-Semitic incidents.

The Detroit Free Press reports the following:

Several law enforcement agencies have joined Oak Park police in searching for a 16-year-old suspected in the fatal shooting of an Oak Park police officer early this morning.

The suspect, 16-year-old Jonathan Belton, is considered armed and dangerous, Oak Park Lt. Mike Pinkerton told the Free Press. Reports have indicated that Belton might have fled the area in a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee with license plate BEF 5904. He is described as 5-foot-11 and about 180 pounds.

Officer Mason Samborski, 28, a four-year veteran of the department, made a traffic stop around 12:30 a.m. near the intersection of 10 Mile and Greenfield roads. He took Belton to an address at a nearby apartment complex in connection with an investigation. A struggle between Samborski and Belton ensued in a hallway of the apartment complex and the officer was fatally shot, Pinkerton said.

Police are not saying whether Samborski was shot with his own weapon, but the officer’s weapon was reportedly not recovered at the scene by officers who responded to the shooting. Pinkerton said he could not confirm that information. It remains unclear what led Samborski to take Belton to the apartment complex. No other parties are being sought in connection with the incident.

Samborski was married and had one child. Oak Park Mayor Gerald Naftaly said he received word of the shooting around 1:45 a.m. and hasn’t slept since. Several residents have called after they heard about the shooting.

“I was very saddened when I got the call early in the morning,” he said. “(Samborski) was very young. One of our former public safety directors used to say there is no such thing as a routine traffic stop.”

Naftaly added that a sergeant will work with Samborski’s family over the next several weeks.

Samborski is the first Oak Park officer shot and killed in the line of duty since Henry Wolf was shot and killed during a traffic stop May 21,1973. The city has a plaque dedicated to Wolf at the city offices.

Police planned to hold a press conference in the late afternoon to discuss the incident in greater detail. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Anyone with information about Belton’s whereabouts or the shooting is asked to contact Oak Park police at 248-691-7447 or dial 911.

(Yehuda Drudgestein – YWN)