A prolific criminal who shot dead a Massachusetts traffic cop has been gunned down by state troopers after a four-hour stand-off that culminated in a shoot-out in a bedroom.

Jorge Zambrano, 35, was at large for 14 hours after shooting married father-of-three Officer Ronald Tarentino, 45, during a traffic stop in Auburn at 12.30am on Sunday.

At around 2pm, detectives located the suspect's car outside a home in Oxford, a few miles away from the crime scene.

After searching the property they found nothing. They then managed to get inside the apartment next door via the cellar, and began to search the premises.

At 6pm, as they went up to a first-floor bedroom, Zambrano burst out of a wardrobe.

He shot one of the troopers - a former Navy SEAL and 18-year veteran - who escaped with a minor wound. Another trooper responded by shooting Zambrano, killing him.

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Killed: Officer Ronald Tarentino (pictured) was shot and killed on Sunday morning during a traffic stop. Hours later his colleagues found and shot dead the suspect Jorge Zambrano (right) during a stand-off in an apartment

Stand-off: The home in the background of this frame is where officers found the suspect's car at 2pm on Sunday. They spent hours searching the property until the suspect, Jorge Zabrano, jumped out of a wardrobe

Officers were stationed outside the home for four hours until it reached a climax, shots were fired and the suspect was shot, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early said in a press conference on Sunday

Eventually the investigation zeroed in on a home 15 minutes away from the crime scene, which is 45 miles south of Boston.

Officers were stationed outside the home for four hours until it reached a climax, shots were fired and the suspect was shot, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early said in a press conference on Sunday evening.

Ambulances could be seen driving at a steady pace away from the crime scene.

Colonel Richard McKeon of Massachusetts State Police told reporters they will not be naming the wounded Navy SEAL until Monday.

As the stand-off played out on Sunday, Officer Tarentino's body was driven from UMass Medical Center to a funeral home nearby.

Officers lined the streets saluting as he passed.

42-year-old Tarentino was taken to UMass Medical Center, in Worcester, where he was pronounced dead.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey tweeted out on Sunday: 'Our thoughts & prayers are with the @AuburnMAPolice dept. & family of Off. Tarentino.

'A reminder of the heroic work officers do each day.'

Tarentino stopped a vehicle at about 12.30am. The driver shot him and fled the scene (pictured hours later)

Investigation: Police did not identify the suspect, who was later traced to a home in nearby Oxford, MA

Auburn Police Chief Andrew Sluckis (above in white) said Tarentino was a 'dedicated and brave public servant'

At Leicester's Town Common on Sunday evening more than 100 people gathered and lit candles and pay their respects to Tarentino.

He was honored in Leicester because he served their community as a police officer before joining the police department in Auburn, WHDH.com reported.

More than 100 people gathered to pay tribute to slain police officer Ronald Tarentino

Tarentino was shot and killed during a traffic stop early Sunday morning. People lit candles during a tribute on Sunday night

Tarentino, who joined the Auburn Police Department three years ago, is survived by a wife and three children, Sluckis said.

Residents in Tarentino's Leicester neighborhood remember him as a pleasant family man.

Next-door neighbor Vin Dagostino called Tarentino a 'super nice guy with a super nice family'.

Sluckis called him a 'dedicated and brave public servant'.

State and local police officers lined up outside the hospital as a police vehicle, escorted by a police procession, took Tarentino's body to the state medical examiner's office in Boston, where the vehicle was met by a large group of officers.

In Auburn, a procession of police cruisers and police motorcycles with lights flashing and sirens sounding drove by the police station around 9.30am while Auburn police officers stood outside and saluted, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported.

Six officers have been fatally shot in Massachusetts since 2000, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.