LYON COUNTY, Kentucky (WKRN) – A Kentucky State Trooper was shot and killed late Sunday night just south of Eddyville, Kentucky and troopers later shot and killed the suspect.
According to police, 31-year-old Trooper Joseph Ponder conducted a traffic stop just before 10:30 p.m. on Interstate 24 west, near mile marker 58, just south of Cadiz Road exit. The area is about 119 miles away from Nashville.
After speaking with Trooper Ponder, the driver fled but stopped quickly causing Trooper Ponder to rear-end the vehicle, police told 8News sister station WKRN.
The driver then leaned out of the car window and reportedly started firing shots at the police cruiser, hitting the hood, windshield and Trooper Ponder, multiple times. He was transported to Caldwell Medical Center in Princeton where he died just after 11:30 p.m.
Trooper Ponder was a U.S. Navy veteran and native of Rineyville, KY. He graduated from the Kentucky State Police Training Academy in January 2015.
The suspect, who ran away on foot, was identified as Joseph Johnson-Shanks, 25, of Missouri.
He was located by troopers at around 7 a.m. in a wooded area close to Interstate 24. Troopers saw him holding a firearm and instructed him to drop it. When he refused, a Special Response Team trooper shot Johnson-Shanks. He was transported to Caldwell Medical Center in Princeton, KY where he died at 8:23 a.m.
Interstate 24 between the 45 and 56 mile marker in Lyon and Caldwell Counties will remain closed until noon as that section is considered part of the crime scene.
A detour has been established for drivers on State Route 93, between State Route 293 Eddyville-Princeton exit interchange and State Route 193 Cadiz-Princeton exit interchange.
