Suspect Taken Into Custody After Fatal Shooting of Kentucky Trooper

Kentucky State Police said Trooper Hayden Phillips was fatally shot while patrolling northbound Interstate 65 in Warren County on Monday, September 28, and later announced that a suspect had been taken into custody by police in Louisville. The suspect was not immediately identified in the custody announcement, and authorities have not publicly established whether that person was the individual previously named in a Blue Alert. Police said Phillips was based out of Bowling Green. The shooting prompted a search for a suspect and a Honda Civic that authorities said was at the scene. A statewide Blue Alert described the vehicle as bluish-gray, with an Alabama temporary registration number TN018596, and said it was last seen traveling north near mile marker 75. The alert urged members of the public not to approach the suspect and to contact law enforcement. One report identified Emonnie Branch as a suspect based on the Blue Alert. The later announcement that someone had been taken into custody did not name that person, leaving it unclear from the available information whether Branch was the person apprehended.