DECATUR, Ill.—Two police officers conducting a traffic stop in a central Illinois city were shot and wounded early Wednesday by a suspect who died after officers returned fire, police said.
The officers stopped a vehicle about 12:30 a.m. in Decatur and “based on information known to the officers prior to the stop” they ordered its driver to show his hands, but he failed to comply, Decatur Police Chief Shane Brandel said in a news release.
When one of officers then spotted what was believed to be a handgun in the vehicle near the suspect, the officers tried to remove the driver, who fired multiple rounds at the officers from close range with a handgun, Brandel said.
Officers returned fire at the motorist, who fired additional shots at the officers, prompting them to again return fire. The driver, who was struck multiple times, was later pronounced dead at a Decatur hospital, the chief said.
He said one Decatur officer was hit multiple times and a second Decatur officer was hit once. One officer was hospitalized in stable condition and the other was in serious but stable condition and has undergone surgery for his wounds, Brandel said.
Decatur Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe said the officers’ injuries are serious, but both are expected to recover, the (Decatur) Herald & Review reported.
Brandel said that during the exchange of gunfire with the suspect, three Decatur officers and one deputy from the Macon County Sheriff’s Office discharged their weapons. Chicago.
He said Illinois State Police will conduct an investigation into the shooting, which is standard procedure in Illinois following such shootings. Decatur is located about 120 miles (193 kilometers) southwest of Chicago.
