Corporal Thomas DeRue was shot and killed while responding to an armed robbery. As he arrived on the scene the suspect exited the business and shot him before he could exit his patrol car. Corporal DeRue was shot once in the chest and once in the abdomen and died from internal bleeding at the scene. The suspect was later apprehended.
Corporal DeRue had served with the South Bend Police Department for six years. He was survived by his expectant wife.