The gunman accused of killing an Illinois police sergeant and wounding a second cop at a motel was arrested Friday following a massive, multi-state manhunt.
Darius Sullivan, 26, was taken into custody “without incident” Friday morning in Indiana in the ambush attack on Bradley, Ill., Police Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic and her partner, Officer Tyler Bailey.
“Darius Sullivan has warrants out of Illinois for first-degree murder, attempted murder and aggravated battery using a firearm,” Indiana State Police Sgt. Glen Fifield said at a press briefing Friday.
“I can confirm that Sullivan is the suspect wanted for the murder of Sgt. Rittimanic and the attempted murder of officer Baily,” he said. “He’s currently in custody here at the North Manchester Police Department and will be later transferred to the Wabash Sheriff’s Department.”
Sullivan was arrested after cops and the US Marshal Service executed a search warrant at the North Manchester house where he was hiding.
Fifield said the arrest followed an unrelated traffic pursuit around 3:30 a.m. Friday that led police to obtain a search warrant for the house where Sullivan was found.
It is unclear how the two cases are linked or how the traffic stop led cops to Sullivan’s hideout.
Meanwhile, a “person of interest” in the Illinois shooting, Xandria Harris, 26, is still being sought by police, Fifield said.
He said Sullivan is facing possession of drugs and weapons charges for items allegedly found in the home but will be extradited to Illinois to face the more serious charges in the police shootings.
Rittmanic, 49, was shot dead and Bailey, 27, was critically injured when the two cops responded to a report of dogs barking in a car at a Comfort Inn motel in Illinois, police said.
Bailey was clinging to life Friday, the outlet said.
Cops launched a massive manhunt after the shooting for alleged gunman Darius D. Sullivan, 25, and 26-year-old Xandria Harris, who was sought as “a person of interest” in the case.
Authorities offered a $25,000 reward for the arrest of Sullivan, who is sought on a warrant on six counts of murder.
Police said the two suspects were collared near Manchester, Indiana.
According to WPTA-TV, SWAT teams surrounded the house, near Manchester University, and witnesses reported several people coming out with their hands up.
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