Sean Riley, a deputy in Wayne County, Illinois, stopped to help a disabled motorist and it cost him his life. Police in St. Peters, Missouri are on the hunt for the armed and dangerous cop killer Wednesday morning.
Deputy stopped to assist
On Wednesday, December 29, an “armed and dangerous” suspect shot a man and hijacked his car at a QuikTrip.
Police are certain that the fugitive is the same one who fatally shot a deputy of the Wayne County, Illinois Sheriff’s department earlier.
According to officials with the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Sean Riley was dispatched on a call around 5 a.m., to render a “motorist assist” along Interstate 64 in Illinois.
Details are still developing but apparently the officer didn’t check back in as expected. The officer “called in the license plate information on the vehicle he’d stopped to help.” Then, he was shot.
Local reports explain that when “another officer arrived,” they discovered “Deputy Riley’s body at the scene, but his squad car was missing.” It didn’t take long to turn up. The cruiser “was later found abandoned on Interstate 64.”
Authorities assume the “suspect or suspects fled on foot at that point.” Reports note that Officer Riley “was pronounced dead at the scene at 5:07 a.m.”
Massive manhunt underway
While police shut down a large section of I-64, “a massive multi-agency manhunt” was launched for the cold-blooded killer.
“Numerous law enforcement officers” scoured the area with “four-wheelers,” searching for the killer of Deputy Riley.
Area police agencies are currently escorting the Wayne County Illinois Sheriff’s Deputy to the Vanderburgh County Morgue. The deputy was shot and killed overnight.
— Sgt. Todd Ringle (@ISPEvansville) December 29, 2021
By 7:11 a.m. the killer was at the QuickTrip. From what they were able to reconstruct, after the suspect murdered the deputy, he made his way on foot to 391 Main Street, in St. Peters.
Surveillance cameras caught the suspect inside, “wearing a light gray hoodie, dark pants and dark shoes, possibly Under Armor.”
They know he’s “armed and dangerous” because not only did he shoot and kill a deputy, one of the QuickTrip patrons had a bad day too. Local police note “the suspect carjacked the victim, shooting him in the process and fled.”
Luckily, the victim “was shot in the shoulder.” He’s recovering at the hospital. The police soon found the vehicle but no trace of the cop killer. “O’Fallon, Missouri, police say he is now in another vehicle, a white Nissan Titan pickup with the Missouri license plate 0WE-A43.”
