New Orleans officer shot to death by fleeing robbers at bar

NEW ORLEANS -- Three armed men robbed bar patrons then shot and killed a police officer as they fled early Sunday, police said.

Three man was arrested, and one other was being sought.

The gunmen robbed about a dozen people at Club Tango, in a low-income area 10 blocks northeast of the French Quarter, police said. A person inside the bar managed to call police at 3:23 a.m.

Five-year police veteran Christopher Russell, 35, was the first officer to arrive, along with trainee Mary Colon, who graduated from the police academy in May.

One gunman fired into their car, striking Russell in the head, police said.

"It was a policeman's worst nightmare. You pull up and people start shooting," said Sgt. Kevin Anderson, a department spokesman.

Police traced one suspect, Michael Davis, 31, to a nearby street.