O'FALLON, Ill. — A man exchanged gunfire with police during a traffic stop in O'Fallon, Illinois, Sunday before shooting and killing himself, state police said.
In a statement Sunday afternoon, police said the man, who was wanted on felony charges from St. Louis and considered armed and dangerous, died at a hospital. Illinois State Police identified him Wednesday as Jesse Cook, 26, of East St. Louis.
According to a post on the O'Fallon, Illinois, Police Department Facebook page, the incident happened at 11:42 a.m. in the O'Fallon Plaza parking lot on West Highway 50.
The post said officers with the department were conducting a "high-risk traffic stop" when Cook stopped his car, got out and fired multiple rounds at the officers from a handgun. The statement said officers returned fire, but did not say if any of their shots hit the man.
The statement said Cook then ran about 100 yards toward a nearby gas station, where officers found him with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
He was airlifted to the hospital where he was pronounced dead, state police said.
No officers were injured in the incident. At least one police car was struck by gunfire.
Marsha Gibbs lives just feet from the scene.
"I heard sirens, and the first couple of sirens went by and I didn't think much of it. But after about the third, fourth siren, I came out and looked and a couple more went by—a total altogether of seven police cars and then two ambulance," Gibbs said.
Gibbs said she didn't hear any shots fired.
"I didn't hear any gunshots at all. I didn't know what was going on. I just saw them all over on that side of the street and this side of the street. And I didn't know. Apparently, Fairview Heights police were down there, too, but I couldn't see them coming in," Gibbs said.
She said it's very unusual for this to happen in this area.
"It's pretty quiet around here, other than regular street traffic. Stuff like that just doesn't happen in this area," Gibbs said.
As of 1:05 p.m., when the post was published, the department said the area of West Highway 50 was closed for an ongoing investigation. The highway reopened at about 4:40 p.m.
ISP is handling the ongoing investigation.