Sgt. Joseph Szczerba, an 18-year veteran of the force, was stabbed to death while responding to a call in the Penn Acres Community near New Castle around midnight Friday.
Police are still trying to sort out exactly what happened. They're also trying to cope with the loss of one of their own.
It all began when officers were called to E. Roosevelt Avenue and Fithian Drive for a report of a disorderly subject.
Action News is told that the officer was stabbed while attempting to take the subject into custody.
The officer was rushed to Christiana Hospital and pronounced dead soon after.
The suspect, who has not yet been identified, was taken into custody.
Two other officers and civilian received non-life threatening injuries in the incident.
Later in the morning, It was a somber sight as police delivered the officer's body to the medical examiner's office in Wilmington.
Authorities closed off the streets as the procession came off I-95 at Maryland Avenue. Fellow law enforcement lined up and saluted a man who served the force for nearly two decades.
County Executive Paul Clark says he was met "with extreme shock, sadness and regret" upon learning of the incident. He says he has offered his condolences to family members of the officer.
