Kentucky authorities arrest suspect in fatal shooting of state trooper
along highway
[September 29, 2026]
SMITHS GROVE, Ky. (AP) — A man has been arrested in the fatal
shooting of a Kentucky state trooper during a traffic stop on a highway
Monday afternoon, officials said.
Trooper Hayden Phillips, 30, was shot when he pulled over a vehicle on
Interstate 65 in Warren County, Col. Phillip Burnett Jr., commissioner
of the Kentucky State Police, said during a news conference. |
This undated photo provided by Kentucky State Police Monday, Sept. 28,
2026, shows Kentucky State Police Trooper Hayden Phillips. (Kentucky
State Police via AP) |
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The vehicle left the scene, and after a brief search, law
enforcement found it and the suspect about 94 miles (151
kilometers) northeast in Jefferson County, he said. Police in
Louisville caught the suspect, a 51-year-old man from Portland,
Tennessee.
Kyle Bumgarner, U.S. attorney for the Western District of
Kentucky, described it as a “routine traffic stop" and said
officials responded within minutes of the shooting.
The suspect will be transported back to Warren County and face
state murder charges, he said.
“This is among, if not among, it is the most heinous crime that
can be committed in our commonwealth,” Bumgarner said. "One of
our own was gunned down and murdered on the side of the road.”
Officials didn’t say why the trooper pulled the man over, how
the shooting unfolded and whether the suspect has a criminal
record.
Phillips had been at the agency for three years and was based
out of Bowling Green in south-central Kentucky. He was a husband
and father of three.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called Phillips “a hero who dedicated
himself to protecting our commonwealth.”
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