Patrolman Donald R. Aleshire

Donald R. Aleshire

Patrolman Donald Aleshire and Officer William Wurst of the Hainesport Police Department were shot and killed by a sniper at the 200 block of Garden Street in Mount Holly.

Mount Holly Officers were responding to a call about a man with a gun around 6:00 p.m. When Officer John Holmes and another officer arrived at the house, they approached from opposite sides, and the gunman fired at both of them, wounding Officer Holmes. Patrolman Aleshire approached the house in an unmarked patrol vehicle; he was shot as soon as he exited his vehicle. Officer Wurst was providing backup but was struck by gunfire while trying to take cover. One of the officers, who suffered a gunshot wound to the knee, was able to escape the gunfire and called for assistance.

Officer Holmes, also of the Mount Holly Police Department, was transported to the Burlington County Memorial Hospital, where the bullet severed his spine, rendering him paralyzed until he succumbed to his wounds 17 years later.

The suspect was apprehended after barricading himself in the home for over three hours. The mother of the 23-year-old suspect said he thought he was back in Vietnam. In 1977, the suspect was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed. He was still institutionalized in 2021.

Patrolman Aleshire was a United States Vietnam War veteran who had served with the Mount Holly Police Department for three months and had previously served with the Philadelphia Police Department for five years. On the day of his death, which was his 30th birthday, he had volunteered to work overtime. He was survived by his expectant wife and daughter.