What percentage of officers killed with firearms are killed by ambushes?

• A. 20%
• B. 10%
• C. 5%
• D. 25%

Answer: (A)

Ambush means a sudden, surprise attack from a concealed position where the officer is shot without warning. Among officers killed by firearms, about twenty percent fall into this ambush category—roughly one in five. That figure shows how often officers are taken by surprise in a lethal way, which is why vigilance, awareness of potential concealment, and proper tactics during high-risk tasks are emphasized in training. The other percentages don’t fit that pattern because they would imply the ambush share is significantly larger or smaller than what is observed; twenty percent best matches the real proportion of firearm-related fatalities due to ambushes.