Pontoon Beach police officer shot investigating alleged stolen vehicle
A Pontoon Beach police officer has been airlifted to a St. Louis hospital with life-threatening injuries following a reported shooting at a gas station Tuesday morning.
According to Illinois State Police, the officer approached what he suspected to be a stolen vehicle at the Speedway gas station at the intersection of Illinois 111 and Interstate 270. The male suspect began firing at the officer, Illinois State Police Trooper Jayme Bufford said.
The suspect was taken into custody on the scene, she said.
Pontoon Beach Police requested assistance from Illinois State Police Zone 6 Crime Scene Unit after the shooting occurred shortly before 8 a.m.
Fox2 News reported that a helicopter was on standby at Gateway Regional Medical Center in Granite City. Police tape surrounded a portion of the parking lot. At about 8:30 a.m., the officer was taken by stretcher from the emergency room to the helicopter.
Pontoon Beach police vehicles were stationed outside St. Louis University Hospital by 9:15 a.m. Officers from other jurisdictions also arrived as a show of support.
Officers from the Illinois State Police, Pontoon Beach Police, Madison County Sheriff’s Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms remained at at the scene of the shooting. Evidence markers surrounded a red pickup truck parked at a gas station pump, its driver’s side door standing open.
Investigators also were looking in a storm water ditch at the front of the gas station.
Neither the officer nor the suspect has been identified.
“The investigation is in its infancy,” Bufford said.
This story was originally published October 26, 2021 at 10:41 AM.
