ISP: Suspect held deputy at gunpoint in squad car before officers shot him

CARTHAGE, Ill. (WGEM) - The Illinois State Police released new information Thursday regarding an officer-involved shooting that happened Wednesday afternoon in Hancock, County, resulting in the death of the suspect.

ISP reported that the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a suspicious person in a rural part of the county around 2 p.m. Wednesday.

According to ISP, during an interaction with deputies, the suspect entered a patrol car and held the deputy at gunpoint. The deputy then got out of the patrol car and fired at the suspect. Police said the suspect then drove away in the patrol car as a second deputy arrived.

ISP stated after a short pursuit gunfire was exchanged between the deputies and the suspect near US Route 136 and Hancock County Road 2500 East.

According to an ISP report, the subject was shot and was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later.

No officers were injured in the incident.

Illinois State Police and the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office have repeatedly refused multiple requests by WGEM News for an interview.

Prior to ISP’s announcement Thursday afternoon, which came almost 24 hours after the incident, local residents expressed concern for a lack of transparency about the incident.

“We would like to hear ‘this is the situation’,” Fountain Green resident Cole Little. “They don’t have to explain how the suspect was apprehended, but at least say there’s no longer a threat to that local community.”

Some other residents said the community is also being kept in the dark, left to decipher multiple rumors.

“People called and made sure we were okay because they knew we lived in Fountain Green, so that’s how I found out,” Fountain Green resident Debbie Little said. “I didn’t know anything was going on.”

Investigators have yet to share the identities of the suspect or the deputies.

RELATED: Officer shoots suspect in Hancock County, Illinois

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