Maryland police arrest teenage suspects in police officer's slaying

May 22 (Reuters) - A Maryland police manhunt ended on Tuesday when officers arrested three male teenagers suspected of playing a role in the killing of a female police officer who responded to a burglary report in a Baltimore suburb, officials said.

The female Baltimore County officer, Amy Caprio, on Monday had confronted burglary suspects who attempted to flee in a vehicle, sparking a violent altercation that left the nearly four-year-veteran of the force critically injured, police said. Caprio later died of her injuries at a nearby hospital.

Sixteen-year-old Dawnta Harris was arrested shortly after Monday's altercation and was charged as an adult with first-degree murder, Baltimore police spokesman Natalie Litofsky said in a post on Twitter. Harris was expected to appear in court for a bail review later on Tuesday.

Heavily armed Maryland police working with dogs had searched through the night for the other three suspects.

Local media reports said the fleeing suspects ran the officer over with a vehicle.

"There were reports on her being run over or being shot or both, but that will not be confirmed until the autopsy is complete," Baltimore County Police Department spokesman Matt Kuhn said in a phone interview.

(Reporting by Gina Cherelus in New York; Editing by Scott Malone and Bernadette Baum)

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