Sorry, BobL, but you have it wrong.
From the article at the link:
“Rebello, a Hofstra junior studying public relations, and suspect Dalton Smith, 30, were both shot and killed as he was trying to back away from police with a gun to her head, police said.”
For some reason I can’t get the meaning from the way it is written.
So, a cop shot the bad guy, but, the cop also killed the hostage by mistake?