Kentucky continues to mourn the loss of Kentucky State Trooper Cameron Ponder. His cruiser was struck by a semi-truck.

Ponder graduated from the KSP Training Academy in January.

Sunday’s manhunt started after Kentucky state trooper Cameron Ponder pulled over Johnson-Shanks Sunday night.

Ponder made the initial stop because the suspect was driving 103 miles per hour while heading westbound on Interstate 24, Thomas said Monday night.

At that point, according to the statement, the suspect’s auto abruptly stopped, causing Ponder to crash his auto into the vehicle.

“It’s heart wrenching”, Radcliff Police Chief Colonel Jeffrey Cross said.

A woman and two children, ages 2 and 5, were inside the vehicle when Johnson-Shanks drove away, beginning a chase.

He died at a hospital.

His niece, 19-year-old Ambrea R.J. Shanks, is charged with hindering prosecution or apprehension. She was lodged in the Caldwell County Jail. When Johnson-Shanks refused, authorities shot him.

K-9 units and helicopters from the Tennessee Highway Patrol were utilized in the search for Johnson-Shanks.

Joseph Johnson-Shanks, the suspect accused of shooting and killing a Kentucky State Trooper, may have left a message minutes before he was apprehended and shot by police.

In several photos, Johnson-Shanks is seen with his hands raised in the air with the caption, “hands up don’t shoot” – a phrase which originated from the unarmed teen’s death.

Relatives of Johnson-Shanks tell the Post-Dispatch that he was a handyman in his neighborhood and had taken part in protests in Ferguson, Mo., last year.

His death is the second for Kentucky State Police from the same cadet class of 12.

He was transported via ground ambulance to the Caldwell Medical Center in Princeton for treatment where he succumbed to his injuries at 8:20AM this morning.

A cousin and close friend of Johnson-Shanks who declined to provide their names said he worked as a handyman around his neighborhood, fixing cars and mowing grass for his neighbors.

Our hearts go out to those affected by this tragic event, and we hope that justice finds the man responsible for this heinous act.

“We owe them a whole, whole lot”. His results are pending.

Johnson-Shanks “had his opinions like everybody else about police, but he wasn’t the type to do anything to a police officer”, the cousin said.

Chrisman was the first trooper killed since Post 1 opened in 1948, Thomas said. “At 7 o’clock I heard a gunshot”, Kotlarich said. Both troopers were from Rineyville, Kentucky. On Monday, ABC News shared that this trooper, who had been on the job less than a year, was shot during a vehicle chase. Citing an ongoing criminal investigation, he did not provide details of the arrest.