Sandy MaloneCynthiana, KY – Kentucky State Police (KSP) announced that a 22-year-old convicted felon has been charged with trying to kill a state trooper on Friday afternoon in Harrison County after a six-hour multi-jurisdictional manhunt.
The shooting occurred at about 4:15 p.m. on Jan. 28 as the trooper was making a traffic stop on Delta Court in a Cynthiana trailer park, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
Neighbors in the area said they heard at least 12 gunshots.
Witnesses said the gunman fled the scene in a vehicle, according to WLEX.
State police have not yet released details of what led up to the shooting.
A Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife officer was the first person to respond to the scene after the trooper was shot twice by the suspect, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
That officer loaded the wounded trooper into his patrol vehicle and rushed him to Harrison Memorial Hospital.
State police said that the trooper was taken by ambulance from Harrison Memorial Hospital to University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital’s trauma center for treatment, the Lexington-Herald Leader reported.
Officials said on Saturday that the wounded hero was in “stable” condition and was expected to be released from the hospital in the near future to recover from his wounds at home.
KSP has not yet identified the trooper, nor have they given any details about where he was shot, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
However, officials confirmed that the trooper was wearing a ballistic vest when he was shot and said that was what saved his life.
UPDATE: The Kentucky State Trooper who was shot in Cynthiana last night is expected to be released from UK Hospital "soon," according to a KSP release.@LEX18News has learned the bulletproof vest he were wearing "saved him."
— Ricky Sayer (@RickyReports) January 29, 2022
A multi-agency manhunt for the gunman was launched immediately after the incident, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
Kentucky State Police Commissioner Phillip Burnett Jr said that 22-year-old LeeQuan T. Taylor was captured just after 10 p.m. on Friday night with the assistance of the Lexington Police Department, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the U.S. Secret Service, and University of Kentucky Police.
Heres a look at the heavy law enforcement presence on Landsdowne
just before 11 last night shortly after a suspect was arrested in the shooting of a Kentucky state trooper. @FOX56News pic.twitter.com/VYq65YCLiV— Emani Payne (@EmaniPayneTV) January 29, 2022
Taylor has been charged with the attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, first-degree assault, and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, the Lexington Herald Leader reported.
He was booked into the Bourbon County Regional Detention Center on Jan. 28.
The KSP Critical Incident Response Team is heading up the investigation into the officer-involved shooting, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
The investigation is ongoing.
Commissioner Burnett thanked the assisting agencies and hospital staff for their support after the trooper was shot, according to a KSP press release on Jan. 29.
“I can’t thank these agencies enough for their support and effort last night,” the state police commissioner said. “They are a true representation of Kentucky law enforcement working together to safeguard the commonwealth.”
“Additionally, I want to personally commend the medical staff at Harrison Memorial Hospital and The University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital for their expert care of our trooper and compassion displayed to him, his family, and our staff,” he continued. “Our agency is humbled by the outpouring of calls, prayers and concern from the citizens we serve daily.”
Holly Matkin
