A Maryland State trooper was shot during a traffic stop Monday night on Route 50 near Vienna.

The wounded officer, an 18-year State Police veteran, was taken to TidalHealth Peninsula Regional in Salisbury for treatment of the injuries sustained in the shooting.

State Police said the trooper is not being identified at this time. He was later released from the hospital.

Police identified the suspect as Keiford Lee Copper III, 23, of Trappe. Cooper was later pronounced dead of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound after a chase in Delmar, police said.

Police said that shortly before 10 p.m., the trooper from the Easton Barrack attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a Toyota Prius on eastbound Route 50 near the Vienna Scale House, just east of the Nanticoke River Bridge.

The trooper approached the passenger side of the vehicle to make contact with the driver.

During the traffic stop, the driver brandished a firearm and fired at the trooper, striking him several times.

The trooper returned fire, police said.

There were two other passengers in the vehicle, police said, but none of the occupants was struck. The driver fled the scene, traveling eastbound on Route 50.

Another State Police trooper on his way home heard the emergency broadcast and immediately responded to the scene. Upon his arrival, he found the injured trooper suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

He provided the trooper medical treatment on scene until EMS arrived.

Just 10 p.m., officers from the Delmar Police Department located the Toyota Prius in the area of eastbound Route 54 and Providence Church Road in Delmar.

Officers followed the vehicle to the 600 block of Elizabeth Street, a dead-end residential street in Delmar.

The driver, later identified as Copper, attempted to turn the vehicle around. He hit the curb and crashed into two vehicles. Police said the vehicle came to rest after hitting a tree.

Police surrounded the Toyota and observed Copper alone in the vehicle and slumped over the wheel with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. No shots were fired by law enforcement at the scene of the crash, police said.

Police identified Cooper as the driver of  the Toyota at the time of the officer’s shooting. He was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical service personnel from Hebron.

Shortly before 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, a 9-1-1 call reported two unidentified men with hooded sweatshirts walking around a neighborhood in Hebron.

Troopers from the Salisbury Barrack responded to the area and located the two men walking on Porter Mill Road toward Route 50. They were taken into police custody without incident.

State Police Homicide Unit investigators responded and are conducting the investigation.

Crime scene technicians from the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division responded to process both crime scenes.

Police said a gun was recovered in the Toyota Prius.

Maryland State Police from the Eastern Troop responded to both scenes. K-9 and Maryland State Police Aviation Command also responded to assist. Personnel from the Maryland 

Wicomico County State’s Attorney Jamie Dykes was briefed by investigators. Upon completion of the investigation, it will be provided to Dykes for review. 

The State Police Internal Affairs Unit is conducting a concurrent investigation. The trooper involved in the shooting has been released from the hospital and placed on administrative leave, as is procedure. 

The investigation is continuing, police said.