Arriving officers found Morelli's body early on March 21 behind a row of trucks in the rear of the parking lot behind the Calvin Reformed Church at the end of Lubrano Place.

Investigators from the state police Western District Major Crime Squad found Morelli's gun on the rear bumper of one of the trucks.

Investigators determined that Morelli, 38, fired two bullets into the parking lot pavement from his Sig Sauer P226 service weapon, said many sources who asked that their names not be used for this article because they are not permitted to speak on the matter.

Morelli, a Norwalk officer for 11 years, apparently then aimed an AK-47 at himself and pulled the trigger, they said.

When backup officers arrived less than a minute after Morelli's last radio transmission, they found him dead behind the trucks.

The shooting prompted a massive manhunt, with police scouring the area aided by helicopter-mounted infrared cameras and search dogs. As many as a dozen police departments came to Norwalk's aid and up to 40 officers participated directly in the death investigation, Lt. Paul Resnick said last week.

Chief Harry Rilling acknowledged Tuesday that an AK-47 was found at the scene, along with Morelli's service weapon.

Rilling has since said he is not ready to comment on the details surrounding Morelli's death.

The AK-47 rifle had a "burst-fire" mechanism, allowing one trigger pull to fire three rounds automatically in quick succession, sources said. The first bullet entered beneath Morelli's chin, and another struck him in the forehead, the sources said.

Investigators believe the recoil of the rifle or the movement of Morelli's head caused either the second bullet or the third to miss completely, the sources said.

At a press briefing last week, Rilling said experts studying the incident determined that Morelli's wounds likely were self-inflicted, but no final determination has been made.

Morelli was a decorated U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran who served in the first Gulf War.

A few police officers who spoke to The Advocate said there is no doubt that the AK-47, which had Arabic writing on it, belonged to Morelli. Some speculate he brought it back from the war.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is helping police determine the origin of the rifle, Resnick said.

Morelli had just begun his second shift of the day and was working alone when he called dispatch at 12:26 a.m. March 21 to say he was stepping out of his cruiser to check something suspicious in the parking lot behind the church, police said after the incident.

Seconds later, Morelli yelled an obscenity into the radio, which other officers took to mean that he was in trouble. His radio then went dead.

Two cruisers arrived at the parking lot in less than a minute, finding Morelli hunched over the AK-47, with one hand around the barrel of the rifle.

One resident said that that morning he heard four or five shots shortly after midnight.

The new information about Morelli's death indicates that the officer violated police policy and state statutes by firing his weapon needlessly in the parking lot.

Morelli may have violated state and federal laws for being in possession of the AK-47, if the weapon has been deemed an assault rifle and therefore illegal to possess.

Investigators have not found a suicide note, sources said.

In response to many written questions yesterday about the account of Morelli's death, Rilling responded via e-mail by saying that the police department has released information in an appropriate and timely fashion.

Rilling would not confirm any detail of the account of Morelli's death that police and state officials gave to The Advocate.

"We will release other details if and when they become available," Rilling said. "I am not going to speculate on issues that have not even been discussed at this point. The questions you are asking are very premature as we are still conducting this investigation."

Some officers and other individuals around the city have said that Morelli's motive for trying to make his death look like a homicide could be a way to save face.

Others suggest a federal death benefit for police officers killed in the line of duty could have played a role.

That benefit, the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program, provides a one-time financial payment of $303,000 to the eligible survivors of public safety officers whose deaths are the direct result of a traumatic injury sustained in the line of duty.