Police officer gunned down hours before going on maternity leave

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A 29-year-old police officer who had put off maternity leave after giving birth prematurely to a daughter in February was being mourned Thursday, a day after she was gunned down in a shootout with a fugitive.

Kerrie Orozco, the first female officer from Omaha's police department to die in the line of duty, had only recently given birth to a daughter, and also was stepmother to two children ages 6 and 7, according to authorities. She was pronounced dead at Creighton University Medical Center shortly after the 1 p.m. shooting, Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said at a hospital news conference. Schmaderer said the suspect, 26-year-old Marcus Wheeler, also died at the hospital.

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Orozco, a seven-year veteran of the department who worked in the gang unit, had delivered a premature baby in February, who is due to go home from an Omaha hospital Thursday. She had postponed her maternity leave until the baby was released.

"[The baby] is set to be released from the hospital tomorrow," Schmaderer said, his voice breaking.

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