ALTON, Ill. — The man killed in a shootout with police Thursday morning in Alton is also suspected of shooting a random woman in the same area hours prior, Alton Mayor David Goins confirmed Monday.
Vernon Randle Jr., 27, of Alton, was killed Thursday at about 6 a.m. near the intersection of Liberty and East 6th streets in Alton.
Also injured in the shootout was Alton police Officer Allen Averbeck, who police said was saved from serious injury by his body armor. He was released from the hospital Thursday and is recovering at home.
Averbeck's K-9 partner, Odin, was rushed to Hawthorne Animal Hospital in Glen Carbon, where he later died.
Police acknowledged last week that a woman had been shot in the same area hours prior to the police shootout, but officials did not confirm that the shooting was connected until Monday.
The woman was sitting in her car at about 10 p.m. Wednesday on the 2300 block of East Broadway when a man shot her twice and ran off. He also randomly shot at another car on East Broadway.
Police later reviewed surveillance footage and identified Randle as the shooter, Goins said.
They do not believe Randle and the woman knew each other.
The woman was released from the hospital and is recovering at home, Goins said.