Thousands mourn Montana trooper slain in line of duty

THREE FORKS — The youngest Montana Highway Patrol officer ever killed in the line of duty fought to the end as a warrior in a shootout on a rural road, the patrol's chaplain told the officer's grieving family and thousands who attended the funeral Tuesday.

Trooper David DeLaittre, 23, died last Wednesday during a traffic stop outside his hometown of Three Forks. He had stopped to investigate an idling truck in the middle of the roadway.

The driver of the truck shot him in the head and torso with a shotgun, authorities said. DeLaittre returned fire and wounded the gunman, Errol Brent Bouldin, a...