In the small town of Colebrook, New Hampshire, a routine traffic stop on August 19, 1997, escalated into a tragic and violent event that would claim the life of 32-year-old White male, Scott Phillips, a New Hampshire State Trooper. That day, Trooper Phillips pulled over a vehicle driven by Carl Drega. Without warning, Drega, armed with an automatic rifle and wearing a bulletproof vest, exited his vehicle and opened fire on Trooper Phillips.
Despite being wounded, Phillips returned fire,
emptying his service weapon in a valiant attempt to defend himself. As the situation unfolded, Trooper Leslie Lord arrived at the scene to provide backup, unaware of the gunfight that was in progress. Before he could even exit his cruiser, Drega fatally shot him. Drega then approached the wounded Trooper Phillips and shot him four more times at close range.
Following the deadly encounter, Drega stole Trooper Phillips' patrol car and continued his rampage through the town. He went on to kill two more people, part-time judge Vickie Bunnell and newspaper editor Dennis Joos, and wounded several other law enforcement officers. The violent spree finally came to an end when Drega was killed in a shootout with law enforcement in Vermont. The case is considered solved as the primary suspect, Carl Drega, is deceased.
