Officer Shot in Indiana After Stolen Vehicle Chase Ends in Fatal Confrontation

An Indiana trooper was shot during a multi-state pursuit of a stolen pickup; the gunman was later found dead after an hours-long manhunt involving roughly 100 officers.

Officer Shot in Indiana After Stolen Vehicle Chase Ends in Fatal Confrontation

A state trooper in Indiana was wounded by gunfire Friday while trying to stop a pickup that had been reported stolen across state lines.

The confrontation occurred in La Porte County, close to where US 421 meets County Road 300 N, NBC 5 Chicago reported.

Law enforcement in Berrien County, Michigan, had been tracking the silver Ford F-150. Once the truck entered Indiana, a trooper picked up the trail on I-94. The driver later pulled off at US 421.

The pickup stopped at a Speedway station. During the encounter, it rammed into the officer's patrol car. The driver then discharged a firearm, hitting the trooper several times. The officer fired back as the truck escaped, according to state police.

Medics first took the injured trooper to a local hospital, then moved him to South Bend Memorial. His condition was described as stable. Following surgery, colleagues said he remained upbeat.

A widespread search ensued. Around one hundred officers gathered roughly five miles south, at Wozniak and Joliet roads, after the suspect's vehicle was sighted there. People living nearby were advised to shelter indoors. More gunfire erupted from a forested patch where the driver had been hemmed in.

Just before half past eleven in the morning, specialized units discovered the suspect lifeless. The person had died from a bullet wound, officials stated. Authorities announced the community was safe.

Throughout the operation, Sgt. Glen Fifield stressed that the force's main concerns were the trooper's wellbeing and capturing the armed fugitive.

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)