4 FIREFIGHTERS SHOT, 2 KILLED BY GUNMAN WHILE RESPONDING TO A FIRE IN UPSTATE NEW YORK,

TOWN OF WEBSTER UPSTATE NEW YORK

A gunman shot four volunteer firefighters and killed two of them at the scene of a house fire in the upstate New York town of Webster on Monday morning, officials said.
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office evacuated the neighborhood after at least one shooter exchanged gunfire with an officer who first responded to the scene near the Lake Ontario shore east of Rochester. The Christmas Eve blaze burned three homes and a car as firefighters fought flames alongside cops searching for the shooting suspect or suspects.

The West Webster Fire Department, a mix of volunteer and paid firefighters, was called to put out a single house fire along Lake Road just after 5:30 a.m. But as the blaze spread to two other homes and a vehicle, firefighters were forced back amid chaos when a shooter started gunning down their colleagues, Sheriff Patrick O’Flynn said.
He had no other information on the shootout.
Two died in the attack, but two others with gunshot wounds were listed in guarded condition at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester. An update on their condition was expected Monday afternoon.

SWAT TEAM EVCUATES FAMILIES AND RESIENTS FROM AREA

Fire crews returned to tackle the inferno again around 10 a.m., a sheriff's office spokesman said.
And a SWAT team swept into the area and evacuated parts of the neighborhood, Webster resident Michael Damico told the Democrat and Chronicle.
“Some people on this bus already watched their houses burn,” Damico said. “They’re not happy.”
Throughout Monroe County, black flags were hoisted up flag poles as news that the firefighters who heroically rushed to the frenzied scene became victims themselves.
"NY's first responders are true heroes as they time and again selflessly rush toward danger to keep our families safe," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo tweeted Monday.
The shooting comes 10 days after a gunman killed 26 people, including 20 children, at a Connecticut elementary school before turning the gun on himself.