Kentucky authorities search for suspect in fatal shooting of state trooper along highway
Sep 28, 2026, 3:25 PM | Updated: 3:58 pm
SMITHS GROVE, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky state trooper was fatally shot along an interstate highway Monday and authorities were searching for the shooter and a car that was at the scene, a police official said.
Trooper Hayden Phillips was shot while patrolling along northbound Interstate 65 in Warren County, Kentucky state police said in a statement on social media. Phillips was based out of Bowling Green in southcentral Kentucky.
“Our hearts break for Trooper Phillips’ family, loved ones, and fellow troopers as we grieve this tremendous loss,” Col. Phillip Burnett Jr., commissioner of the Kentucky State Police, said in the statement.. “We will carry his memory with us, honor the life he lived and the badge he wore, and stand together as an agency to support this family in the days ahead.”
Authorities were searching for a Honda Civic with an Alabama license plate. State police asked anyone seeing the vehicle to contact law enforcement.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called Phillips “a hero who dedicated himself to protecting our commonwealth.”
State police planned a news conference Monday night in Bowling Green.
