Authorities say a suspect in the shooting of a North Texas police officer was found during a traffic stop early Wednesday. He was allegedly involved in a car hijacking that later killed a woman.
Jerry Don Elders, 39, allegedly shot the police officer three times in Burleson, about 21 miles south of Fort Worth, at about 4:15 a.m. Wednesday, Burleson police said. He was one of three occupants of the vehicle involved in the shooting.
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Elders were arrested Wednesday afternoon in Gainesville, 100 miles north of Fort Worth, near the Oklahoma border, after a police chase and pursuit, Burleson police chief Billy Cordell told a news conference.
Police later identified the wounded officer as four-year veteran Joshua Lott. He is recovering in a stable condition in the hospital, Cordell said.
Elders, left, were arrested in connection with the shooting of Burleson police officer Joshua Lott, pictured right. Lott was recovering in a hospital and in a stable condition, police said.
(Burleson Police Department)
After he was shot at Lott, investigators believe Elders or one of the other suspects who accompanied him then assaulted and shot dead a woman in a car chase. According to Cordell, police later saw Elders and a second person flee in the woman’s vehicle.
The Gainesville area was searched for the other person who fled the stolen vehicle. A third person is being questioned ‘and we’ll see where it goes,’ Cordell said.
Elders, according to police, were wanted on two drug offenses when the shooting took place.
Elders have been charged with aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon, a first-degree crime punishable by life in prison.
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The shooting is at least the fourth in which a Texas law enforcement officer has been involved in the past few weeks.
An Austin police officer was shot and wounded Friday, while a state official was shot and wounded during a hunt for a man accused of opening fire on a cabinet. And late last month, a state troop was shot dead during a traffic stop near Mexia, about 120 miles southeast of Dallas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.