OAN’s James Meyers
10:50 AM – Friday, February 9, 2024
A manhunt is still underway in Tennessee in search of a man who is suspected of fatally shooting a deputy and injuring another officer during a traffic stop. He is considered “armed and dangerous.”
The search continued into Friday.
Warrants have been issued for Kenneth DeHart, 42, for first-degree murder and for being in possession of a firearm as a felon. He is wanted in connection with the shooting that took place on Thursday evening, according to the Blount County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputy Greg McCowan was killed in the shooting during a traffic stop and a female officer alongside him was shot in the leg and responded by returning fire. She is currently being treated at a hospital, according to authorities.
DeHart “would not cooperate with deputies” and refused to exit the vehicle, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. We had an officer killed tonight,” Blount County Sheriff James Lee Berrong said during a news conference in which he was visibly upset. “I’m so sorry that we’ve lost a young man. I talked to his family earlier. I apologized for not protecting him.”
Berrong also offered a $10,000 reward to anyone with more information on DeHart.
“We’re going to get this man off the streets of east Tennessee and put him behind bars,” he asserted.
DeHart was last seen in the city of Maryville, the agency said on social media.
Anyone with information about Dehart’s whereabouts or anyone who has seen or talked to him since Thursday evening are asked to call 865-981-7125 or 1-800-TBI-FIND.
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