Kentucky trooper killed, suspect in custody

State police say numerous law enforcement agencies, as well as helicopters and dogs are being used to help with search efforts in the rural, wooded area.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – Police say a 25-year-old man was shot and killed early Sunday while driving a vehicle along an interstate through Louisiana’s capital city… The juvenile passengers were released to a relative. He lived in an area of North County near Parker Road and Lewis and Clark Boulevard.

Just after 11 p.m. eastern time, Trooper Joseph Cameron Ponder stopped a suspect on the interstate.

The suspect, Joseph Thomas Johnson-Shanks, 25, of Missouri, was shot and injured when he was apprehended, Kentucky’s Lyon County Judge Executive Wade White said.

Police were focused on locating the suspect in a wooded area between about the 45 and 49 mile marker. There were also two children in the vehicle. The other woman in the auto was being cooperative with police.

Johnson-Shanks opened fire at the officer, firing multiple shots that struck the “hood, windshield and Trooper Ponder multiple times”, according to the report.

The loss of Kentucky State Police Trooper Joseph Cameron Ponder was felt throughout the state of Kentucky Monday.

According to CBS affiliate KFVS, police are searching for a suspect. Police told residents to stay inside and keep their doors and windows locked. “An SRT Trooper discharged his agency issued weapon striking Johnson-Shanks”, police say.

Ponder was taken to Caldwell Medical Center in Princeton, Ky., where he died at 12:41 a.m. EDT Monday.

Flags at the Mayfield state police post where Ponder was stationed were fluttering at half-staff on Monday afternoon.

Ponder is the second Kentucky State trooper to die in the line of duty this year. All lanes are blocked. When police found him, the suspect ended up getting shot and injured.

As he did, Johnson-Shanks took off. She’s charged with hindering prosecution, and is being held in the Caldwell County Jail.

A pursuit ensued and Johnson-Shanks suddenly stopped, causing Ponder’s cruiser to hit the back of his vehicle. They’ve provided little detail so far on events leading up to his death.

An autopsy is scheduled for Johnson-Shanks on September 15 in Madisonville, Ky. He was a Navy vet, a graduate of North Hardin High School and he will most definitely be missed. The birthday listed on the account matches Johnson-Shanks’.

Those officers demanded he drop his weapon. He was pronounced dead in a hospital roughly an hour later, police said.

Trooper Ponder leaves behind his parents, sister and two brothers.

Shanks’ Facebook photos show that he participated in the Ferguson protests/riots and attended Michael Brown’s funeral.

“In the past year , everything changed in him”, Green said.

“Life gives you a chance to be somebody”, Green said.