An Arkansas Department of Correction sergeant was fatally shot Monday morning while assisting local law enforcement in central Arkansas, authorities said.
The department identified the officer as Sgt. Joshua Caudell, 29, a married father of three children.
The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office says deputies responded to a residential disturbance at a home in Maumelle, just outside Little Rock. Caudell was part of a K9 team assisting the deputies.
Police believe someone fled from the home and the tracking dog led authorities to a nearby trailer.
The sheriff’s office says a person opened fire on the officers from underneath the trailer, killing Caudell, Lt. Cody Burk told Little Rock TV station KTHV.
Authorities surrounded the trailer, but no arrest was made. The sheriff’s office has named Demark Lee Jordan, 38, as the suspect in the shooting, and authorities are searching for him and a grey 2012 GMC Sierra with an Arkansas license plate number 345-YNJ.
Several nearby schools were locked down as a precaution.