The Latest: Police: Gunman fled hotel after shooting officer
ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) — The Latest on a shooting at an Illinois hotel (all times local):
7:10 p.m.
A man suspected of fatally shooting an Illinois sheriff’s deputy has been charged with first-degree murder.
Prosecutors in Winnebago County in northern Illinois had issued a warrant against Floyd E. Brown for attempted murder. Winnebago County State’s Attorney Marilyn Hite Ross says the charge against the 39-year-old Brown of Springfield was upgraded after McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputy Jacob Keltner died of his injuries.
Authorities say Brown was taken into custody hours after his car crashed Thursday afternoon along a central Illinois interstate. They say Brown fled a Rockford hotel where a fugitive task force tried to serve a warrant for his arrest Thursday morning.
They say Brown was wanted on a burglary warrant and a parole violation.
Authorities say Brown also wounded a woman described as an acquaintance of his. She was treated at a hospital and released.
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This update has been corrected to show that Winnebago County is in northern Illinois, not central Illinois.
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4:15 p.m.
Authorities say a suspect in the fatal shooting of an Illinois sheriff’s deputy has been taken into custody.
Illinois State Trooper Sean Ramsey told WGN-TV that 39-year-old Floyd E. Brown was taken into custody hours after his car crashed Thursday afternoon along a central Illinois interstate. State police officials said they attempted to negotiate with him to surrender. However, Ramsey did not explain how Brown was taken into custody.
Brown is alleged to have fatally shot 35-year-old McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputy Jacob Keltner, a 12 ½-year veteran of the department Thursday morning while helping serve an arrest warrant.
Prosecutors in Winnebago County in northern Illinois say they have issued a warrant with $5 million bond against Brown for attempted murder. Officials haven’t said when charges against Brown will be upgraded.
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This update has been corrected to show that Winnebago County is in northern Illinois, not central Illinois.
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3:55 p.m.
A sheriff’s department spokesman says an Illinois deputy shot while helping to serve an arrest warrant at a hotel has died.
McHenry County Sheriff’s Department Chief David Dezane says the deputy was pronounced dead Thursday afternoon.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker sent a tweet expressing condolences to the deputy’s family members.
The suspect, 39-year-old Floyd E. Brown, was in his car that crashed Thursday afternoon along a central Illinois interstate. Illinois State Police officials said they were trying to negotiate with him.
Police say Brown fled the Rockford hotel earlier Thursday after shooting the McHenry County sheriff’s deputy who was assigned to a fugitive task force serving Brown with an arrest warrant. Police described the injured woman as an acquaintance of Brown and said she was injured by one of his rounds.
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This update corrects the spelling of McHenry County.
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1:45 p.m.
Authorities say a sheriff’s deputy is in critical condition and a woman suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound in a shooting at a northern Illinois hotel.
The suspect, 39-year-old Floyd E. Brown, was in his car that crashed Thursday afternoon along a central Illinois interstate. Illinois State Police officials said they were trying to negotiate with him.
Police say Brown fled the Rockford hotel earlier Thursday after shooting the McHenry County sheriff’s deputy who was assigned to a fugitive task force serving Brown with an arrest warrant. Police described the injured woman as an acquaintance of Brown and said she was injured by one of his rounds.
Prosecutors in Winnebago County have issued an arrest warrant for Brown on an attempted murder charge with a bond of $5 million.
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1 p.m.
Police say a man suspected of shooting an officer at a northern Illinois hotel before fleeing has crashed his vehicle along an interstate about 170 miles (273.5 kilometers) away.
Trooper Sean Ramsey tells WGN-TV that police have several officers and a negotiator at the crash scene. Illinois State Police say the suspect is inside his vehicle and troopers have down Interstate 55 in both directions.
Authorities say the suspect, 39-year-old Floyd E. Brown, shot an officer earlier Thursday at a hotel in Rockford as a fugitive task force tried to serve an arrest warrant. He then fled in a vehicle and drove south.
Police have said they believe Brown has a rifle and is considered “armed and dangerous.”
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12:20 p.m.
Police in northern Illinois say they believe a man suspected of shooting an officer at a Rockford hotel has left the area.
Rockford police Lt. Andre Brass identified the suspect as 39-year-old Floyd E. Brown.
Police say he fled the Extended Stay America hotel in Rockford after shooting an officer who was part of a regional fugitive task force trying to serve a search warrant. The officer was taken to the hospital but his condition hasn’t been released.
Brass says police believe Brown has a rifle and is to be considered “armed and dangerous.” Brass didn’t know what direction Brown fled in.
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11:05 a.m.
Police say a gunman has fled an Illinois hotel after shooting an officer who was part of a task force trying to serve an arrest warrant.
Rockford police Lt. Andre Brass says the suspect was wanted on several warrants when the regional fugitive task moved in Thursday. Brass says the suspect fled in a vehicle after the shooting.
Brass says investigators believe the suspect is still armed. He says: “We just want to end this situation peacefully with his surrender.”
Rockford is about 80 miles (129 kilometers) northwest of downtown Chicago.
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10:50 a.m.
Authorities say an officer has been shot at a hotel in northern Illinois.
The U.S. Marshals Service says the shooting occurred Thursday morning at a hotel in Rockford. Spokeswoman Belkis Cantor Sandoval says the officer was on-duty and working with a regional task force when the shooting occurred.
She didn’t immediately have details but said more information was forthcoming.
Local media is reporting that Rockford police are responding to an active shooter at a hotel.
The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.
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