Illinois Trooper Shot, Motorist Dead in Exchange of Gunfire

Illinois Trooper Shot, Motorist Dead in Exchange of Gunfire
File photo of an Illinois State Police car. Leonard Zhukovsky/Shutterstock
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MT. VERNON, Ill.—A New Mexico motorist was killed and a state trooper was wounded in an exchange of gunfire along an interstate highway in southern Illinois, police said.

Illinois State Police said a trooper stopped about 3 a.m. on May 9 along Interstate 64 to assist a stranded motorist on the right shoulder of eastbound lanes. The officer encountered motorist Brandon L. Griffin, 23, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and a female passenger.