Grief and sympathy poured as family and friends mourned the death of Jersey City cop Melvin Santiago who was felled by an assailant's bullet while responding to a robbery alert at a drug store on Sunday.

The assailant, Lawrence Campbell, shot Santiago in the head at close range as soon as the latter's police car pulled over at the parking lot of Walgreens store on Kennedy Boulevard at past 3:00 AM Sunday.

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An eyewitness to the crime said Campbell did not rob the store but instead punched its security guard and grabbed his gun, which he used to shoot at Santiago.

Campbell told the witness to watch him in the news later as he becomes famous for killing a cop, Jersey City mayor Steve Fulop told reporters at a news conference hours after the incident.

The killer's statement proved he was driven by a premeditated motive to kill a cop in order to hog the limelight, Fulop said, adding that Campbell was also being hunted for a previous crime.

Cambell was gunned down by responding police as he continued to fire at them after shooting Santiago.

At 23, Santiago brimmed with courage and high ideals, his family said. As a boy, he had nurtured the dream of practicing law enforcement to help contain the rising tide of criminality that had gripped the city.

Santiago was hired by the Jersey city police in July last year, just months after he graduated from police academy.

His superiors said the fallen cop had shown eagerness and dedication in patrolling the city's western district, which is notorious for its high incidence of petty crimes.

Mourners viewed Santiago's death as more than just the latest addition to the rising crime statistics in a nation where gun-related violence has grown bolder against an unresolved debate over gun ownership and control.  

It had struck a realization among many that everyone in America has come in direct line of fire of anyone who can grab a gun and pull the trigger.

Melvin Santiago held a dream and made a vow to keep his city safe.  In the end, the bullet that felled him bore a hole in the very heart of the city -and country- that he vowed to protect.

TagsJersey cop death, Melvin Santiago, Jersey cop shooting, Lawrence Campbell