The reward has increased to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest of a Florida man who’s accused of fatally shooting an Orlando police officer on Monday morning, authorities announced.
Orlando police said Markeith Loyd, 41, shot and killed Master Sgt. Debra Clayton, 42, near a Walmart store after the 17-year police veteran approached him around 7 a.m.
Loyd was already wanted in the December shooting death of his pregnant ex-girlfriend, 24-year-old Sade Dixon, authorities said.
After a brief chase, Loyd fired upon Clayton, who was married and had a son, according to Orlando Police Chief John Mina.
“As soon as she said ‘stop,’ he basically opened fire on her,” Mina said at a press conference Monday.
Doctors pronounced Clayton dead a short time later at Orlando Regional Medical Center.
Police said Loyd fled the scene heading toward a nearby Pine Hills neighborhood. He allegedly fired upon a responding deputy’s vehicle before carjacking a woman.
An Orange County sheriff’s deputy on a motorcycle was killed in an automobile crash while responding to the search. Deputy First Class Norman Lewis was an 11-year veteran of the force, his department said.
Mina warned at Monday’s press conference that anyone harboring Loyd would be punished.
“We are using every resource possible to find him and arrest him,” he said. “I can assure you that we will not rest until Markeith Loyd is behind bars.”
Loyd is wanted for first-degree murder in Clayton’s death and for attempted murder of the sheriff’s deputy, as well as for murder charges in Dixon’s death.
He is considered armed and dangerous.
This story has been updated with news of the increased reward money.
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