JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri—Authorities say two people are dead following a kidnapping, attempted carjacking and lengthy police chase that started in Missouri and ended in southern Illinois.
Police allege 39-year-old Leslie Austin kidnapped his girlfriend and their child in Jefferson City, Missouri, on Tuesday night, Feb. 12. The woman was shot during the abduction but survived.
NEW: Mugshot of Leslie Austin. He’s the man @ISPDistrict11 says kidnapped his apparent girlfriend and child from Jefferson City, drove through #STL & IL, tried to carjack a man & killed the man. After shootout with police, Austin is dead. Unclear what bullet struck him. @KMOV pic.twitter.com/Z6KTTQ2veM
— Justin Andrews (@Justin_EAndrews) 13 februari 2019
She was able to escape with her child after Austin drove into Illinois, where Austin then fatally shot a 67-year-old man during an attempted carjacking.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports Austin died after exchanging gunfire with police who stopped his vehicle by using “stop sticks” along a roadway in Greenville, Illinois, about 175 miles from Jefferson City. It wasn’t immediately known if Austin shot himself or was shot by officers.
BREAKING: Our first photo of Leslie Austin, age 39 from Jefferson City, Missouri. He led police on a bi-state chase and shot multiple people overnight. He died after a shootout with police. #KSDK pic.twitter.com/a9Vl7RmAKS
— Jennifer Feldman (@jenniferfeldman) 13 februari 2019
Police say the woman was being treated at a hospital Wednesday, Feb. 13, Her condition hasn’t been released.
DEADLY BI-STATE CHASE: The Illinois State Police Department is holding a press conference to provide an update after two people died following a reported kidnapping, attempted carjacking and police chase from Missouri to Illinois.What we know: https://bit.ly/2N2DYdZ
Gepostet von KMOV am Mittwoch, 13. Februar 2019
Traffic Stops
The National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund said that traffic stops are notoriously dangerous for police officers in the United States. The leading causes for officers being shot and killed in 2017 was when they were responding to domestic disturbances and conducting traffic stops, its annual report said.
“The leading circumstances of firearms-related fatalities were officers responding to domestic disturbances and conducting traffic stops,” the memorial fund stated.
According to the most recent figures published by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, “A greater percentage of male drivers (12 percent) than female drivers (8 percent) were stopped by police during 2011.” It adds: “In 2011, about 3 percent of traffic stops led to a search of the driver, the vehicle, or both. Police were more likely to search male drivers (4 percent) than female drivers (2 percent).”
