Reporting by Brandy Lawrence, Micah Leith, and Tygra de Mello.
State police have confirmed that the suspect in the shooting of a state trooper earlier today is dead.
Here’s the latest from Newswatch at 11:
Scott O’Brien was the focus of a manhunt that lasted all day Monday… Police say he was spotted near Sunset Hills Missionary Church on Independence Road near Coal City.
According to state police, O’Brien was armed when found by officers. He refused to drop his weapon, and police used lethal force.
O’Brien was suspected of shooting a state trooper in the elbow during a traffic stop at the dollar general in Sophia at around 9:22 this morning.
He then fled the scene in a white Jeep Grand Cherokee. Police recovered that vehicle in Coal City near the volunteer fire department, roughly one thousand feet from where police eventually confronted O’Brien.
O’Brien was from Hamilton, Ohio, according to police. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
As of now, this investigation is still active.
Newswatch will provide more information as the story develops.
